


Beautiful Trauma

by thisiswhyishouldntwritefanfic



Category: Heathers (1988)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Awkward Flirting, F/M, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Soulmates, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-03-16 13:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 73,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13636851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisiswhyishouldntwritefanfic/pseuds/thisiswhyishouldntwritefanfic
Summary: Urban legend says when you meet your soulmate, you unlock the potential in your brain for abilities above those of normal humans. These can take any form, which is half the reason only a few people believe in the myth.Veronica herself is a skeptic, as much as she thinks there must be some basis for the rumors, whereas JD has seen first hand how these abilities work after years under the oppression of his father's. Neither of them expects their own to trigger when they meet, but it happens anyway, much to JD's dismay.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, yes... I do strange things when I'm sick, sleep deprived, and writer's blocked on other stories, flailing about in writer insecurity of "I ruined my stories, I can't fix them, now I can't write, what do I do?"
> 
> (It's not a pretty picture, trust me.)
> 
> I'd been thinking off and on about a Heathers universe with powers/ablities, especially with some obvious potential connections between Jessica Jones and Heathers, but I kept putting it off. I gave it some thought again, and I came up with this thought, one that explained some things in canon, and that's always dangerous, and add in the soulmate thing for which I am also a sucker for when they're done right, and this happened.
> 
> I also was listening to Beautiful Trauma by Pink and decided it fit JD/Veronica, and that became the title.
> 
> And there we have it, all the reasons behind a bad decision, so without further ado, fic...

* * *

“Only idiots believe that bullshit is true,” Heather Chandler said, leaning back on the bench and taking a sip from her drink. “You better not tell me that's why you don't want to go to the party.”

“She's right,” Heather Duke said, looking up from her book. “Despite all the anecdotal evidence, no one has ever been able to prove the existence of soulmates or advanced abilities.”

Veronica wanted to scream. She wasn't sure why they always assumed she didn't know any of this. She did. She actually thought she tested as smarter than any of them, but Westerburg, despite priding itself on good grades, was not a place where anyone got ahead by being smart. It was about who they knew, and she was only at the top now because she'd gotten in with the Heathers. 

“I never said that was why I didn't want to go,” Veronica said. “I didn't ever actually say that I didn't want to go.”

She wasn't stupid enough to admit that, even if it was true. She knew that being a part of the Heathers had its price, and she was usually willing to pay it. She didn't want to go to a lame frat party and have sex with some college boy she'd just met, yeah.

Did it have to do with the urban legends? No. She wasn't like her childhood friend Betty, who believed in them with everything she had, waiting for the day that she found her soulmate and unlocked all the fantastic powers her mind was keeping hidden. Betty loved that idea, that she would not only find the perfect person for herself, but that she'd transcend to some higher level of being as well. 

On paper, it all sounded nice, right? Eternal love and power, who could resist such a thing?

Veronica was a skeptic about it herself, since she didn't buy anything like love at first sight and wasn't sure there was any one person out there for everyone. Some people didn't deserve that, and others should probably never have it for the sake of humanity, especially where the supposed powers came into play. Still, there were enough stories and claims to make it seem like there had to be some truth to the rumors somewhere. Maybe in that people with other abilities existed or that they'd come together to create some kind of hoax. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that if she went looking for it, she'd find a real explanation for it.

She could be all scientific about it, if she wanted to, and sometimes it amused her to think she might. She'd go out and prove this thing one way or another, maybe make a career out of debunking urban legends like it.

First, though, she had to survive the Heathers and a stupid frat party.

“Then you're going,” Heather Chandler said, baiting her with a look.

Veronica wished she had some good excuse to say no. She didn't want to fight off some jerk's advances all night. She also didn't want to drink again. Last time she tried, she'd gotten really sick. She might be one of those people who was allergic to alcohol, and she had thought about testing that, too, but she didn't have access to much around her own house and given Chandler's reaction to her puking last time, she didn't want to do that around her again. Ever.

Still, she didn't have a good excuse. It would be the weekend, so no curfew—not that her parents seemed to think much of that rule when it came to doing anything with the Heathers, which was a problem in of itself—and she couldn't claim homework or needing an early morning.

She was going to have to come up with some good before the end of school tomorrow.

* * *

“Wake up,” his father's voice said, and JD reluctantly opened his eyes, stretching with a groan. He hated sleeping in the car, not that he'd had much choice about it. “We're here.”

“Where is here?” JD asked, reaching for his door handle. He stepped out with care, knowing his legs would be rubbery underneath him if he moved too fast and he'd fall. He stood for a moment, looking up at the house.

Nicer than the usual fare, and not a motel this time. His father's job must have been a good one, or at least one that would take a while, and he was planning on staying for a bit longer than usual. JD didn't know how he felt about that. He sometimes thought he wanted to stay in one place, and sometimes he'd give anything just to move onto the next one.

“Sherwood, Ohio.”

“The fuck?” JD had fallen asleep when they left the hotel in California. No way he'd slept all the way to Ohio. They had to have stopped along the way, and he couldn't believe he hadn't woken up for that.

Except, looking over at his father's smirk, he could.

Damn him.

“You should see the new place. I think you'll like this one, Dad. It's got everything us kids could want. A pool. Work out room. Jacuzzi in the bathroom. All the best this time around.”

“As opposed to the shit it is every other time?” JD muttered, not bothering to take bait and call his dad 'son.' He wasn't in the mood for that game, not now, maybe not ever. With his father, it was so hard to tell. “Fuck this. I'm going to get a slushie.”

“Go in the house, Jason.”

The tone might have made anyone outside of them flinch, and sometimes JD wished he was free to do that, because even it was a sign of some control over his actions. He didn't want to go inside, but he couldn't ignore the command. He couldn't refuse it.

His father followed him inside, shutting the door behind him. That look on his face was never good.

“You know, when this gift of mine showed up, I thought I had the best thing in the world. I'd always get what I wanted, not that I didn't before,” Bud said with a slight smirk at the end that made JD sick. “And yet somehow it seems like I still end up having to punish you for disobeying me. Tell me, Jason, does that make any sense?”

“Yes,” JD said, regretting it but knowing that he wouldn't have actually said that made it worse.

“And how do you figure that?” Bud asked. When JD refused to say anything, he took a step closer to him. “Answer me. Now.”

“It has to be a command,” JD whispered, hating himself for it. His father should have seen it years ago, as he had, but JD hadn't wanted him to, since he wanted to have some control over his life, and he only did if Bud didn't his ability all the time. When he gave orders, JD had to obey, but if he just said stuff, JD could still do things.

He never thought he'd appreciate being able to talk back as much as he did, but it was one of the highlights of this life, mouthing off to the man who had almost total control over him.

Bud smiled at him. “Did you think you were keeping some kind of secret from me?”

“No. I used to think you were stupid for not figuring it out, but you knew all along, didn't you?” JD asked, trying to wrap his head around it. He supposed it made sense—the ultimate mind game, making JD think his father didn't know when he did so that he'd either think he was free and now leaving him to wonder just how much of what he'd thought was free will before actually was.

Fuck.

Bud touched his cheek with an even bigger grin. “We're going to have a great time here. I just know it.”

JD shuddered, afraid of just what that command would end up meaning, but he already knew it was going to be a long night.

* * *

“This is not the lunch time poll question,” Heather Chandler said in disgust, wadding up the note and throwing the paper over at Veronica. “I'm making up a new one right now.”

Veronica shrugged, uncurling the paper to look at it. She almost smiled when she did. She wasn't surprised that Heather didn't want to discuss it, seeing as she'd had such contempt for the idea the day before, but it wasn't like it wasn't relevant to their world, unlike anything Chandler was about to dream up here.

“Let me see,” McNamara said, leaning over to read it. “Do you think the tendency toward powers and soulmate bonds runs in families?”

“I told you,” Chandler said coldly. “That is not the poll question. I'm making a new one.”

“I don't know,” Duke said, frowning and chewing her lip a little. “I kind of think there might be something to it, like how some diseases run in families and stuff? What if their bloodline somehow... makes it possible? It only happens to certain people—”

“It doesn't happen at all,” Chandler insisted. “That is just stupid shit they made up to sell tabloids and romance novels. It's completely bogus, and stop being such a pillowcase, Heather.”

Duke flinched, picking her book back up and trying to hide behind it. Veronica shook her head. That wasn't right. Duke's thoughts weren't stupid, not if this thing was real.

“I think if there were such a thing there might be a part of it that has to do with your family,” she said. “And if we're just talking about possibilities, there's no more harm in discussing the idea of soulmates or special abilities than there is what we'd do with money we inherited or what things would be like if Regan hadn't won the election.”

“I don't understand why either of you would defend that nonsense,” Chandler said. “It's like you don't have a brain at all between you.”

“Actually, Heather has a valid scientific theory. They're doing a lot of research into genetics now and that could very well prove that there is a family connection to a lot more than just the far-fetched like soulmates and powers. You know, in those comics, there's some gene—”

“You sound like you're sitting at the wrong table, Veronica,” Chandler said, and she grimaced, though Duke looked almost grateful for the defense for a second.

 _Maybe I am,_ Veronica thought. She wasn't sure she was cut out for the world of high snobbery, with the parties and the cruelty to all below them, not to mention pretending she wasn't half as smart as she was. She wanted something more than this.

She didn't think it had to be special powers or a soulmate, but she didn't care about lip gloss and couldn't drink, so she had to find something else.

“I've got the perfect question,” Chandler announced, rising. “Come with me, Veronica.”

She sighed, but she knew that if she didn't go now, she'd just create a bunch of needless trouble for herself. She didn't regret standing up for Heather or her own thoughts on the soulmate issue, but as stupid as the lunchtime poll was, it was also harmless, so she could take it.

Save her fight for something more important.

She found her eyes stopping on someone across the cafeteria, a boy she'd never seen before in a dark coat. He sat up when he saw her, his eyes on her as well, following her as she walked, and she didn't know what it was—there weren't that many people in Sherwood she'd didn't know, the school and town being the size they were—but it felt like more.

Betty would love it. She'd call it love at first sight, tell Veronica she'd found her soulmate.

And then Veronica walked right into Betty and found it both ironic and stupidly pathetic all at the same time.

* * *

JD went through the motions at school, the way he always did. It took a while for his father's commands to wear off, and this was no exception. Every day, he'd send JD off with instructions to behave and do well in school, sometimes more detailed, most of the time not, so JD went through his days like a damned robot, not talking back even when he knew the teacher was explaining the lesson wrong or when the assignment was pure bullshit.

He hated school. He wasn't terrible at any subject in particular, but his father's commands made it impossible to like anything. If there were bullies, JD had to sit back and let them do what they wanted because he couldn't even talk back to them.

_Behave._

One of his father's worst commands, though there were others he hated more.

He was starting to think, more and more, that he'd never be free of them. He used to look forward to eighteen and walking away from the bastard, but with his father's ability, he'd never be able to do it. He'd get close, his father would order him into staying, and he would.

He'd like to end things now, before that happened, but he couldn't. He was still under the hold of that last command.

_Behave._

He should tell the bastard to include something about being able to stomach school lunches or something, as this last one he couldn't even manage a bite of, but whatever. He'd live through another day and call it done.

He felt someone looking at him and looked back. Oh. Her. He'd spotted her earlier, that dark hair and those intelligent eyes, but he was still under the whole edict of behave so he'd had to look away. She was with the popular girls, and that shit was never worth it—like the time he'd gotten the shit beaten out of him because he spoke to the quarterback's girlfriend for two seconds.

Damn, but she _was_ pretty. Something about her made it hard to look away, even with the command still ringing in his head. He watched her bump into someone and try to apologize, and his lips curved into a smile of their own volition.

Wait. Did that mean his father's command was wearing off? He'd love that, but it never happened that fast before. It couldn't be. He was imaging it.

He wanted to try something, to test that idea, but he didn't know what to do. Nothing too big, nothing that would get his father a call or a warning. No, because if he knew it took less time to work, if he knew it was wearing off or JD was becoming immune to it—and JD doubted that, though he'd been around it all his life and if anyone had a right to immunity from it, he did.

He wanted a life of his own or at least a way to end things, rather than this endless cycle, a few moments of freedom here and there that didn't make up for the times when he had no choice but to obey his father, whatever the command, no matter how humiliating or impossible or against everything he was.

He still felt sick when he remembered those things, the ones he hadn't wanted to do but did because his father ordered him to and when Bud ordered, JD obeyed. He never wanted to, but he did.

And he wanted it to end.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when the girl came back with her friend, this time coming straight toward him.

“Hello, Jason Dean.”

He almost asked her where she got his name, wanted to tell her not to use Jason because he hated it, that his father's commands almost always used it and it made him sick, but he couldn't. The damned orders again.

“Greetings and salutations,” he said, aware he was smiling again and not sure why, since that still went against the commands. “Are you a Heather?”

“No, I'm a Veronica,” she answered, and he tested the name in his head, deciding he liked it. “Veronica Sawyer. I'm... This may seem like a really stupid question...”

“There are no stupid questions.” He might only believe that because his father tells him all the time not to ask questions and they were too dangerously like commands from that bastard, but he knew that none of them were as simple as they seemed.

“You inherit five million dollars the same day aliens land on the earth and say they're gonna blow it up in two days. What do you do?”

“That's the stupidest question I've ever heard,” JD told her, feeling a bit of glee at the words. He didn't even know what he'd answer, though. He supposed he'd tell his dad to go test and see if that ability worked on aliens, and he'd enjoy either way, though maybe more if the aliens won.

“Well, I _was_ going to ask about soulmates.”

He studied her. “You were?”

She flushed. “I mean, the yearbook editor wanted us to ask if people thought the abilities from soulmates were inherited through families and if you had a parent with one, would you be more likely to get something if you found yours, but Heather doesn't believe in soulmates, so she wouldn't ask.”

“She asked about a dumbass alien invasion instead?” JD asked. “At least the soulmate thing exists.”

“You believe that?”

He honestly didn't want to, but he couldn't deny what his father was, and the man insisted he'd only been able to do the commands after his soulmate came into his life. JD didn't think it was his mother, but he also hadn't wanted to ask Bud for more—not that he could.

He leaned forward into her. “You don't think that we share some kind of connection? Because you were giving me one hell of an eye back there.”

She flushed again. “That's just attraction.”

“Hmm. Instant lust. I suppose I buy that, too,” he said, rising to stand next to her. “As to the rest of it... Let's just say, I've seen too much to discount the rumors completely.”

She nodded. “I kind of figure with as many people believing in it and all the stories there's some truth to it somewhere.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” he said, thinking of his father and the command that for once was not buzzing in his head. He couldn't feel it now, and he felt free. He didn't know how free he was until he touched her.

Something jolted through him like electricity, and at first, he confused it with the pain of trying to fight one of his father's orders, but it wasn't the same—it didn't even hurt so much as startle.

It was what came after that hurt.

Images flooded his head, playing in succession like flipping channels on a television, sped up on fast forward and each of them hurt as he saw them even if they were only there for a second and some of them seemed more than a little pleasant.

Most of them weren't.

_Him and Veronica, laughing with croquet mallets, both of them dropping them on the ground at the same time as they start kissing and trying to shed each other's clothes as quickly as possible._

_One of the Heathers, her yellow beacons showing out in the dark of the night, fighting hard against the jock holding her down but to no avail as he forces himself in between her legs and tells her she owes him this._

_A different jock, telling a large girl with dark, terrified eyes, that she should be glad he was even looking at her, and didn't he already know she wanted it? They all knew she did, so she needed to shut up and stop fighting him._

_A girl in green, dying alone in a bathroom, the smell of vomit harsh and strong in the air._

_Some girl with too big glasses, her eyes wide and filled with pain as the person she thought was her true love and forever stole from her something she wasn't ready to give._

_The woman in red, her lips the same color as her dress, leaning over to tell her dinner companion, “I can and will destroy you. You're going to do exactly what I say, do you understand me?”_

_Veronica, tired and cursing him, stopping when the doctor hands her a baby. She looks up at him and sighs and all is forgiven for a brief moment as he leans in to kiss her and hold onto his new family._

_His father, looming out of the darkness, not bothering with a command as he gives JD the kind of beating he'd only ever threatened before, and he knows he won't survive this..._

He stumbled back and fell, the images and feelings still assaulting his brain, and he wanted them to stop, but he couldn't shut them out, couldn't even ask for help, trapped as he was inside the never ending parade inside his head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica and JD struggle to control what has started, and an expert steps up to help them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no idea what to say... I am a bit worried by things at the moment, but that's kind of typical only there's this part of me that's like "why didn't you stick to the stories that you were already doing or their universes?" I don't know. I tried, though, even if it was a mistake.

* * *

Veronica watched in horror as the boy backed away from her and fell, not understanding what just happened. She was pretty sure they'd been flirting, and then he just went down, hard, falling to the floor. She saw him struggle to get to his hands and knees and rushed over to him, kneeling next to him and putting her hand on his back.

She regretted it as soon as she did, her mind flooded with images.

_Her with him, hot and heavy in a car, scared for reasons she can't tell but doesn't care about when he's kissing her like that._

_Martha Dunnstock pinning a suicide note to her chest and walking into traffic, the cars rushing by making an impossible mess of her body._

_Fleming deciding the love the school needed could be found in a special kind of brownies she gave out to everyone at her love-in. There are cameras, but that doesn't stop what happens._

_Betty, glasses gone, dressed more like Sandy at the end of Grease than herself, mean and angry, declaring herself the new sheriff._

_The school blowing up, everything around it getting swallowed into the hole as it sinks into the ground, a giant mass of twisted rubble._

_Kurt Kelly refusing to take no for an answer as she runs from him in the cow field but ends up with the same fate as Heather, who's being held down by Ram._

Veronica yanked her hand back, trying to calm herself after what she'd seen. That was so wrong. She didn't understand why she'd seen any of that. How was that possible? It wasn't like she'd think of those things or fantasize about them. She didn't. Wouldn't. They were sick. Were those thoughts... his? Wait, why would she even think that? It wasn't like she could see his thoughts.

She looked over at him, to where he sat, shuddering as badly as she was, his eyes distant like he might still be seeing those horrible things she'd seen. She crawled closer to him, waving a hand in front of his face.

He didn't react. At all.

“God, Veronica. What kind of a freak did you find now?” Chandler demanded behind her, and Veronica tried to say something, but then Ram and Kurt were there, pulling the boy up and dragging him away.

“Wait. Stop. You can't—”

“You don't really want a freak like that,” Chandler said. “Let them get rid of him.”

Veronica shook her head. “No, you don't understand. Something... happened... I...”

“You need real help if you think you want someone like him,” Chandler insisted. “Now come sit down and stop making a fool of yourself.”

Veronica glared at her, yanking herself free and running after the jocks.

* * *

Heather Duke watched the whole thing play out with a strange sort of glee overtaking her. She knew it shouldn't, that she shouldn't want Veronica in trouble or suffering—and good grief, it did look like she was—but she swore what she was seeing was proof of everything she'd been saying and researching in secret, and she couldn't help the feeling of excitement that washed over her seeing it. Her parents had told her bedtime stories about soulmates, and she'd grown up fascinated by the idea.

Sure, this could have been just the usual teenage lust making it so that Veronica and this boy were unable to take their eyes off each other—Heather wouldn't know; she didn't think this guy was that cute, but Veronica wasn't that normal to begin with—and that was it. Just stupid hormones.

Only what happened after the boy touched Veronica was far from typical, and if Heather was right, they'd just witnessed a soulmate pair meet and unbind their powers. What other explanation was there for something like that? People just didn't collapse like that without a reason, and while he could have been sick, Veronica touching him and reacting the exact same way didn't fit with him getting a bit of food poisoning from the awful school food.

No, Heather would bet he'd been overwhelmed by whatever ability just showed itself.

His were something mental, she was sure of it, but Veronica's seemed touch-based, and Heather thought maybe she'd even been able to see whatever it was he saw when she touched him. She couldn't be sure—none of the books had detailed scientific accounts of anyone, just tales, and they weren't clear on how the abilities developed or what they could do. She knew there was a whole range of them, supposedly, and they seemed random as far as anyone knew, though most people she'd read about agreed there was a family component to them, that if one family member had one, the others would.

She'd read about a family with six kids who all managed to find their soulmates and unbind their powers, each of them with a different ability, and she found it fascinating, wishing she could see it for herself.

Of course, with how Chandler reacted to even the subject of soulmates, Heather didn't talk about it, ever, but she kept doing her research in secret, sending off for books and magazines on the topic, hiding them away in places where she knew her friends wouldn't look, even if Chandler inspected her closet often enough.

Heather followed after Veronica, not caring what Chandler thought. She'd waited most of her life to find proof of this stuff, and now she was seeing it happen, and she wasn't going to leave that alone. She needed to know a lot more, and she had feeling Veronica and her new friend would need her expertise.

* * *

JD could feel the hands on him, the pain as he was hit, but he couldn't find a way out of his mind and back into control of his body to fight back. He wasn't even under a command this time, but he couldn't make the flashes behind his eyes quit. He kept seeing things, horrible things, each of them a nightmare in of itself, except a few here and there that made things even more confusing.

Most of the good ones centered on the girl, on Veronica, but not all of them were theirs, shared moments of peace and love. Some of them were for the others, the same ones he'd seen raped or dying. He didn't understand any of it, but it wouldn't stop.

He wanted his father to come and give him a command, to make the images go away, but he knew that wouldn't happen. Bud wouldn't do that for him no matter how much he needed it.

“Let him go! God, what the fuck is wrong with you? He didn't do anything wrong. He's sick, if anything, and you—get off of him.”

He turned his head toward the voice, and then he felt it again. The images receded, and he could see and think outside them, taking in Veronica, who'd come between him and the jock's fist, blocking him from the attack, but she was shuddering again, like she had been in that moment when he'd seen her again in the cafeteria.

Whatever this was, she could stop it when she touched him, but it seemed to go to her, and that wasn't much better.

He knew he had to do something, though, and he knocked his head hard back into the one behind him, holding him, and the jock screamed and swore as he covered his nose. JD hoped it was broken. He might not be the best fighter—Bud didn't give him much of a chance, but he'd learned hard how to make what he could do count, to strike fast and hard if given even the slightest opportunity.

He pulled Veronica with him as he moved away from the other jock, pushing her behind him. Damn, he could feel everything they'd done while he was out of it, and he wasn't sure he was up to fighting even without the visions going ape shit in his head.

“Get him. He broke my fucking nose.”

“You deserved it, asshole. What the hell did I do to you?” JD demanded, because he hadn't even spoken to these jerks. He would have, given half a chance, but his father's rule about behaving said no, so he hadn't. He'd been stuck until Veronica showed up.

“Ram,” another girl said. “Heather's looking for you. She said she had something special to show you with her cheerleading routine.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” the green Heather said, giving him a smile that was so fake JD wondered why it didn't break her face. “Oh, Kurt, you look awful. You should probably get that looked at.”

“I know that. That fucker broke my nose.”

JD glared at him. “Like you don't deserve it. How many girls have you forced yourself on because they were on a date with you? All of them? Get the fuck out of my sight before I do worse.”

“Like you could,” Ram said. “You're just a pussy faggot who can't do shit, and we have a no fags allowed rule at this school.”

“And an open door policy for assholes,” JD muttered, shaking his head. Kurt, despite bleeding all over, looked like he was going to make another try for him, but the girl in green moved past them.

“You won't be able to play in tonight's game if you get in a fight,” she reminded him, and he glared at her. She kept this expression of complete innocence on her face, like she wasn't at all manipulating them even if she was.

“Come on, Kurt,” Ram said, taking his buddy by the arm. “Let's go.”

The other jock looked at him like there was no way, but Ram insisted, walking him away from JD and Veronica. He didn't know what had set them off so bad, but he had a feeling it had to do with Veronica. Shit, he should have known—she was that creep's girlfriend, wasn't she?

“Football before death,” the girl in green muttered, shaking her head. “You're lucky they're idiots. You'd be the one suspended, not them.”

“Yeah, so, what of it? Why do you care?”

“Well... your soulmate there is supposedly a friend, so I should, right?”

He frowned. “My what?”

She smiled. “Oh, please. Like you don't know exactly what happened back there. You touched her, set off your abilities, and they're completely out of control right now. Or they will be, if she stops touching you. So... you want help with that or not?”

* * *

Veronica put a hand to her head and winced. God, she felt like she'd been drinking again, only she swore she hadn't. She'd been at school, for one thing, and she had just stepped into the middle of a fight, hadn't she?

Oh, well, that probably explained a few things, didn't it? She didn't really feel like she'd been hit, other than her head that was aching, but that didn't mean she hadn't been hurt.

“Relax. Your boyfriend's out cold again, but you're up and around, so that's something,” Heather Duke said, and Veronica frowned as she looked over at her.

“He's not my boyfriend,” Veronica said. “I mean, he's cute, and I'm worried about him, and they shouldn't have hurt him like that, but he's not—”

“Your soulmate? Oh, he so is. Or at least, you're his activator, and you set him off big time. Whatever he's got, it's powerful and painful, but I have a feeling you know what it is, don't you?”

Veronica groaned, feeling a little sick. “Heather, I know I defended you over this thing, but that doesn't mean that I believe in it. I think there's some truth to the rumors, that's all. It's all exaggerated and turned into Hollywood stuff so people can make money, but it's not real.”

“What did you see when you touched him?”

She tried not to gag. “Don't ask.”

“Already did,” Duke said, folding her arms over her chest. “Do you want to fix this or not? Because he's so bad off he can't move, and while you seem to be able to give him some kind of relief, one or both of you is completely debilitated by this thing, so... either you start learning to control it or you lose him. If that's what you want... well... be my guest.”

Veronica stared at her. “Where is all this coming from? Most of the time you're so... quiet you can't manage a few words without Chandler shutting you down.”

Duke shrugged. “I just got proved right, didn't I? Soulmates are real, and you've got one. He's got an ability, doesn't he? Try and deny it. Go ahead.”

Veronica couldn't, since it was the only explanation for what she'd seen that made sense. She swallowed, forcing down the bile that came up with the images. “I... I think he can see the future... or parts of it... things that could happen.”

Duke stared at her. “Really?”

“It's like the worst possible messed up shit, so I really hope not, but... There were some where you or I or someone else was an adult with kids or just older and... So many of them were dark. Painful. I saw... the school blew up with everyone in it... Martha died... Kurt attacked me...”

“Martha died?” Duke frowned. “Not good.”

“What? You hate her, don't you?”

“That's irrelevant. She happens to be the only other person I know who believes enough in this stuff to have done the kind of research I have,” Duke said. “She might even have some of the books I don't have. We used to trade the romance novels when were were younger.”

“Seriously? You're going to base what I should do on romance novels?”

Duke glared at her. “Do you have any better ideas? Because the only way I've seen where he functions is when you touch him, and you see the visions instead of his, so my guess is you're some kind of touch-based ability sponge. You soak up his and can use it, but on your own... you've got nothing.”

“Thanks a lot,” Veronica muttered, though to be honest, she didn't want to have an ability that was anything like his if this were real. “What are we supposed to do, then?”

“I figure we start with getting him out of here,” Duke said. “We don't want to talk about this here, and he's hurt, so he needs treatment. And I need to look at my books.”

“Please tell me you have more than romance novels for this,” Veronica said, and Heather looked at her. “Come on, we've all read at least one, and every one I saw that dealt with soulmate bonds said they had to be consummated for any real control to happen and...”

“You are so red right now,” Duke told her, amused. “That part of the myth is pretty common in the romance novels, but only there. And seriously, he's too out of it for that anyway, but sure, if you want to handle it that way—”

“No.”

“Good. Now help me get him up.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica and JD try to sort out what they can do with some help but there's more going on than they know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, again, reusing the name I picked for JD's mom in Static.
> 
> And Bud remains creepy.
> 
> And I really need to stop creating worlds where there's so much that needs to be explained behind things because there's always too much and too many plot holes.

* * *

_“Too much wishful thinking,” the woman next to her said, and Tricia looked up from her own book, her hand still turning absent circles over her too large belly. The other woman lifted her book, grimacing. “Shouldn't even read these things.”_

_Believing in soulmates seemed foolish, Tricia had to agree, and she found herself more often than not hoping her husband wasn't hers. The rush of their early days and quick courtship had faded into disillusionment not long before she'd found out she was pregnant._

_“I guess we still hope sometimes,” Tricia said, and the other woman forced a smile. “Maybe not for us but for the kids.”_

_“You can tell?” the other woman asked, startled. “I didn't think I showed.”_

_She didn't, not really, but Tricia didn't bother to correct her, just shrugged. She rubbed her back, hoping her son would be ready to come out soon, since she was looking forward to meeting him._

_“I haven't even told him yet,” the other woman admitted. “It's so new.”_

_“Not for me,” Tricia admitted. “I'm a bit sick of it, truth be told.”_

_Her son kicked her stomach as if in protest, and she smiled, increasing the circles over the area._

_“You hoping for a boy or a girl?”_

_“Oh, they told us we're having a boy,” Tricia answered. “And I'm fine with that. Maybe I'll have a girl to spoil later, but I think Bud would have lost it if his firstborn was a girl. He's so... manly.”_

_“I'm hoping for a girl,” the other woman said. “I want to name her Veronica, after my grandmother. Somehow I just know she's going to look like her.”_

_Bud had picked Jason for their son's name. Tricia didn't love it, but she didn't hate it, and it didn't matter anyway because she had no say in it. “Ours is Jason. And I can already tell he's special.”_

_“Aren't they all?” the other woman asked, smiling._

_Tricia shook her head. She knew all moms must think that about their kids, but she was sure of it._

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Martha asked, giving the new boy another look. She'd swear he was dead if his chest wasn't moving in and out, and he was so quiet and still she found it creepy and worrisome. “He looks... really sick. I don't know that we should move him, Heather. Maybe we should get the nurse or call an ambulance.”

Heather folded her arms over her chest. “Were you in the cafeteria earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see what happened between him and Veronica?” Heather asked. “Think about it, Martha. He's overloaded by his new ability. Veronica says she thinks he can see the future or possible futures, and it looks like it's a non-stop thing unless she touches him and takes it on herself. What are they going to do for him in the hospital? Lock him up in the psych ward?”

“They can't do that,” Veronica said, looking hurt by the thought of it. “He's not—it's not—he didn't know. We couldn't know, and it's not like he wants it. God, I don't think anyone would.”

Martha wanted to ask her what she'd seen that made it so terrible, but from the look on Heather's face, no more questions would be tolerated.

“We have to get him up and out of here before Ram or Kurt comes back and sees him like this. They already tried to beat him up, and he's not going to get any better here,” Heather said. “You and I both have books on this sort of thing. We need to look up how people said they got control—not the romance novel version. Even if that did work, in his condition, it's more than a little sick, don't you think?”

Martha grimaced, unwilling to think about that. “And you want my help because of the books?”

“Not just the books. I can't lift him on my own, and when Veronica touches him, she goes zombie on me. I don't want that, even if he wakes up for a bit when she's out. He can't carry her, so I need someone to help with him.”

“Okay,” Martha said. She put her arm under the boy's and helped Heather get him up. “Your house is further away, but I think you probably have more books than me.”

“Will your parents be home?”

“No,” Martha answered, since they were always at work these days and never noticed her if they weren't.

“Then we're going to the closer house.”

* * *

Veronica fidgeted, looking around Martha's room and biting her lip again. He was still completely out of it, and he looked worse, sick even, not that she could blame him after what she'd seen in his head. She didn't want to see more of it herself, but she was almost tempted to touch him and take it away again, just so he'd wake up.

Only she wouldn't be able to see it if it happened, she'd just be lost in her own nightmare.

“Aha,” Duke said, dragging a book out from under Martha's desk. “This might be what we need. I was hoping you had a copy of this one.”

“Of course,” Martha said. “That's one of few real life ones that ever got published outside a tabloid. I wanted to read it because it was real. It's the one my parents hate most, though. They think it's fine for fantasy, like the romance novels, but in real life... no.”

“That seems to be a popular opinion,” Veronica said, feeling completely lost. She'd only half-believed in this, but now she was stuck living it, and she didn't know what to do.

“No one really wants it to be real because then they have to look at the things that are happening and wonder if they're being controlled. Or if there's any point to dating outside a soulmate,” Duke said. She flipped the book open, finger going down the page. “Okay, this is different, but it does talk about mastering a touch based skill, so it's probably worth trying.”

“Didn't that woman try using her skill on multiple people, in short touches each time until she could get enough control to make it her choice when it went off or not even if she was touching someone?”

“Basically, yes,” Duke said, rising with the book. “That's the best I could come up with anyway. That you touch him in low doses until you can get your end under control.”

“And him?”

“That's different and up to him, and I don't remember anything like his ability as you've described it, so I can't say what he needs,” Duke admitted. “No one I can remember claims to have got predictive abilities.”

“I know of one,” Martha said, “but it was a guy who got locked up in a mental institution because he tried to kill the president because of it.”

“That's _The Dead Zone.”_

“No, it was also a real case, and he didn't get close to the president at all,” Martha disagreed, digging through a stack of papers for the magazine and pulling it out. “He says in his interview he understands now that it's only a possible future but it seemed so real to him at the time he had to do something about it. Now he's locked up without a hope of getting out and it took a long time before he got control of what was going on in his head.”

“Looks like your boyfriend might be destined to go crazy,” Duke said, and Veronica flipped her off, going over to his side. True, she barely knew him, but he didn't deserve that. No one did.

She closed her eyes, putting her hand on his arm. The visions came at her, again too fast to make out and sort through, just a lot of unsettling feelings, and she pulled back again. He coughed and turned over, eyes searching the room before he groaned and leaned back.

“Jason? You okay?”

“Don't...” he whispered, and she reached over to brush back his hair, trying to calm him. He was exhausted, she could tell he was, and she wished she could give him some kind of relief without taking it all on herself. 

Still, avoiding it was cowardice, and supposedly she'd gain more control with practice, so she put her hand on his face again and that time the images hit with full force, clouding out everything else in her head.

She moaned and wanted it to stop, but she didn't pull back this time.

* * *

JD sat up and looked down in confusion. “What the fuck did she do?”

“Took it all on herself like an idiot, apparently,” the green Heather said, though she'd ditched the blazer and was sitting without it across the room, her legs surrounded by books that he thought were romance novels. He groaned and fell back on the bed, his head pounding.

“Wait. Every other time she stopped touching him, she woke up and he went back under. Now she's asleep and he's awake. How does that work?” the other girl asked, and he looked up again, head still pounding and making him nauseous.

“My theory was that Veronica was a sponge... maybe she's absorbed enough to where she's got his and he doesn't have anything at the moment. I don't know,” Heather said. “I'm kind of making this up as I go along.”

“A sponge?” JD put a hand to his head. “That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.”

“You have a better explanation for what she's doing, then?”

He thought about how it felt like his father's commands had worn off before he even got close to her, but he said nothing. He didn't tell people about what his father could do. None of them believed him, and if they even came close to it, his father would make him do something humiliating that took away any credibility he had.

He reached over to touch Veronica's cheek, hating that it was whatever he had that did this to her.

“Don't touch her. We'll lose you again, and you need to find some way of controlling what's going on in your head.”

JD gave the girl a weak glare. He didn't see how he was supposed to control it, and he sure as hell wasn't going to ask the only expert on this stuff he knew. He shuddered at the thought of his father knowing he had something like his power, even if it wasn't close.

Fuck.

He could never go home again. Bud would kill him. Well, no, he'd make it look like a suicide or something, but he would do it. He'd order JD to kill himself.

And if anyone knew what he'd seen, they'd think he killed himself because of it, because that shit was fucked up, and he didn't want to face it. They weren't entirely wrong.

“Here,” the other girl said, holding out a glass of water and a couple pills. “This might help.”

He took them from her with as much of a smile as he could muster. His head felt strange as hell, so he gulped down the pain pills and drank the water down. He knew he'd been worse off before, after some of his father's commands wore off and he found out just what he'd been doing, but he still felt sick. Those things he saw had to stop.

“Is it as bad as Veronica made it sound?”

He looked at her. “I don't know. Did she say it was like being in the middle of a horror movie and unable to look away and feeling every damned bit of it? Because if she did, then yeah, it's worse.”

The girl winced. “Really?”

“Like he would make that shit up,” the Heather said. She shook her head in disgust. “Look, Dead Zone, we have to get you some control over this thing and fast or you're not going to make it very far. And Martha's dad isn't going to understand you're sort of promised to Veronica there and will probably try and shotgun you.”

JD flipped her off, too tired and drained to do much else. He thought of all the things he'd done to try and overcome his father's voice in his head, wondering if any of those would actually work on his own ability.

Fuck, why did he have to have one? Wasn't it bad enough his father did? He didn't want this.

Veronica stirred, and he thought about the moments that had involved her. Almost all of them had been good, and he did want those. He couldn't deny it, but the rest? Why would he ever want to see that?

“If you're going to puke—”

“I'm fine,” JD said, the lie familiar and almost as convincing as usual. “I need to go.”

“Hey, we are not letting Veronica wallow in wherever she is because you—”

“I have to go,” he insisted. “The more I'm around her, the more this will happen, and it can't. And... and I have to do it now, while I still can.”

He forced himself up out of the bed, the dull ache of an almost forgotten command coming to the front of his head, almost overwhelming him. Home right after school. No excuses. 

“You can't leave,” Heather insisted, moving to block the door. “Not yet.”

“She'll wake up, right? And she'll be fine, and maybe I won't be, but you don't care about that and I need to—” He put his hands to his head, trying to shut out the voice.

_“Look at me, Jason,” Bud ordered, and he did, not wanting to, but as his father ordered, he obeyed. He put a hand on JD's cheek, mocking real fatherly affection. “That's it. You know better than to try and defy me, and I don't know why you bother sometimes.”_

_“I'm going to be late.”_

_“You don't care about that, and I know it,” Bud said, giving his cheek a pat. “Though you better not be late coming home.”_

_“Midnight, then?”_

_“Not funny,” Bud told him. “You will be home as soon as school is over. You will come to me.”_

_“No,” JD tried to choke out, not sure why his father cared what he did or why it mattered if he was home right away or not. He'd be busy working._

_“You know the rules of a new school. They never change. You will come back to me and tell me about your day.”_

_JD tried to pull away from him. “No. I won't. I—”_

_“It is amusing that you think you can defy the orders when they're for later, but you know what will happen when the time comes,” Bud said. “We can't have anyone at your school figuring out what you are, so you'll do exactly as I tell you.”_

_JD frowned. “What do you mean, what I am? I'm not like you—”_

_“Stop talking.”_

_JD squirmed in his father's hold, unable to speak._

_“That's better. Now remember—home right after school. No excuses.”_

* * *

Bud sat in his office, tapping his pen against his desk.

He checked the clock again and frowned. Impossible. Jason was late, and he knew better than to ever be late. He physically couldn't be, not without some other kind of interference, not when he'd been commanded to show himself.

Unless the boy had finally found some way of overcoming Bud's orders.

No. Bud knew there was no such thing. He could push people well past what they wanted and what they were capable of, and they never stopped. He'd made people do unspeakable things to each other or take lives, and they had not stopped.

Even years with him had granted his wife no immunity to him, as she'd been unable to fight his order to stay where she was inside that building.

He'd watched her die in the demolition with a great sense of satisfaction, helped all the more by the helpless horror all over his son's face as he saw the same thing.

Jason understood defiance wouldn't be tolerated. It shouldn't happen at all, but then Bud found it amusing to give the boy a few illusions of freedom. Still, that was all they were and all they ever could be. If anyone knew what he was, they'd want him for themselves, and Bud refused to allow that.

He rose and went to the window. No sign of his son.

Unacceptable.

He'd known the return to Sherwood was a risk, but he had to be sure. Every theory needed a good test, and he'd exhausted all the others long before he retired his wife. Jason was the source of his power, not some random soulmate—Bud very much doubted he had any such thing—and the boy didn't even know it. 

He couldn't be allowed to find out, either.

Bud had to find him before anyone else did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The books are of little help, though there may be an answer... just not the one she wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't know how to get to this part where there was some actual explanation.
> 
> And while I should probably not go into detail about it, I was having a bit of a panic over doing said explanation and kept thinking, "find something you can do in a universe that doesn't require all this world building, please." And I wanted to ask for things to do in my other story worlds.
> 
> I still wouldn't mind them, honestly. It would be a bit less stressful than this one or the other one, I think.

* * *

“Great,” Heather muttered. “He's out cold again.”

“Yeah, but did you see him when he tried to leave?” Martha asked, and Heather looked over at her, frowning. “He looked scared. Like he... like he had to go and us trying to stop him was what was wrong. I think we hurt him making him stay.”

Heather shook her head. “That doesn't make any sense.”

Martha shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe we should have let him go. It's not like we can do him much good here, and if Veronica's ability is what you think it is, it'll wear off after a while. She'll wake back up and be fine.”

Heather sighed, wanting to throw all the books at the wall in frustration. She wanted answers, but none of them had enough real science to be much use. Only the unverified first person accounts had anything, and yet they weren't able to come close to what was going on here. Heather was still sure it was a soulmate pair bonding, that both of them had abilities, but beyond that, it was difficult to do much with, and it didn't help that Veronica had an ass for a soulmate.

“You have that book on the family where all six kids had abilities?”

Martha nodded, reluctantly moving away from the boy to dig it out of the back of her closet where it was hidden. She brought it over, smoothing its frayed cover as she did. “I don't think any of them were the same as these two.”

“No, but the one sister said she had some kind of touch-telepathy, and I wanted to see if that was closer to what Veronica had. Maybe I'm wrong about the sponge thing.”

“I think they'd both prefer it if you called it something else,” Martha remarked, and Heather flipped her off, not looking up from the account she was reading.

_On paper, their family seems like one of the luckiest on the planet. Four generations of the Woods family have found their soulmates and unlocked incredible gifts of all sorts, making them the kind of family anyone would envy. They lost the patriarch and matriarch last year, both of them well into their nineties and having content, full lives._

_Each of their children has found happiness and one son's large family of six has branched out into successful soulmate pairs of their own._

_“They say we don't exist,” the oldest, a daughter named Flora, who has, of all things, a gift for lightning, “but they're wrong.”_

_Her husband stares at her with adoration. He's the one with the gift for plants, and he teases that her name should have been a sign._

_Watching them with their group of children, one would think this family is single-handedly reshaping the world. They've created quite a little network of gifted people in their own family, but over the years, many have turned to them asking for advice and help with their own awakened abilities._

_Some are well known to the family, as everyone here has some different, unique talent._

_Others are not._

_“It's harder with things that are only in someone's head,” Sancha, the youngest girl says. “Too many dismiss these abilities as hallucinations and madness, and it's harder to get control of them if they are acknowledged as real because everyone's mind is different.”_

_Even Jaime, who is a touch-telepath, according to all accounts, has a hard time of things, but after years of practice, has learned mastery of his ability._

Why did everyone have to be so damned vague about these things? The most detailed accounts were in romance novels, and that was no help at all.

She sighed, flipping the page over and frowning. Was this really it?

_Of course, it's not all happy endings. Flora explains, “We had a younger cousin. She met her soulmate and lost him not long after. She was such a mess she buried her ability and ran off with the first guy she could find to escape the memories and us. She just wanted to forget, but she never could. She killed herself. She was twenty-seven. She had a son. He was twelve at the time. He still doesn't know anything about us. His father won't let us see him.”_

_Does this kid have an ability?_

_“We don't know. It's possible, and if he does, it's probably strong, but we may never know.”_

Heather pushed the book to the side. “Something's missing here. I swear I read one where they talked a lot more about the actual abilities.”

“Maybe the first edition,” Martha said. “After they got death threats, they took out a lot of the information and changed some of the names so that people would stop hounding them. I think they moved and now officially deny everything because people were so scared of them they wanted to kill them, afraid of them multiplying further.”

“There's a second edition?”

“That's the third, I think,” Martha said. “My parents made me get rid of the first two copies I had.”

Heather sighed. “This reads like a newspaper or magazine, not a book. It's not at all detailed, nothing of what Veronica or Dead Zone over there need.”

“We're probably not going to find any of that in something we can buy easily,” Martha said. “And while I'd like to get in contact with the Woods or anyone else that actually knows about this stuff, that's unlikely, too.”

Heather grimaced. “We have to do something. You know she's not going to just let this guy go, and if he can't act semi-human, he'll be an easy target for Kurt and Ram who already tried to hurt him.”

“I didn't think you cared.”

“I don't.”

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

* * *

Veronica groaned as her eyes opened, wincing again as she took in the room. Not hers. Martha's. This was where she'd been before, and she knew why she was out of sorts this time, which was a bit better than the last time. She put a hand to her head, and there was Martha, holding out a glass of water and a couple pills.

“Just aspirin, right?”

“Tylenol,” Martha corrected, and Veronica nodded, figuring it was safe enough to take.

She swallowed down the pills and drank down the water to get rid of the taste. She frowned down at the floor. “What happened?”

“He tried to leave, got weird, and passed out again,” Duke explained. “We've been trying to find something that might help, but nothing so far has been that informative. All of the accounts are deliberately vague.”

Veronica nodded. That didn't particularly surprise her. She knew if there were credible, verifiable records, then everyone would believe in soulmates, not just the few people either hopelessly romantic or more practical like her. Not that she'd wanted to believe it once it actually happened to her, but it was hard to deny what she'd seen every time she touched him.

She forced herself up and walked over to where he was, sitting down next to him. He shuddered, moaning but not waking. She grimaced, reaching over to brush back some of his hair. She tensed, waiting for more visions, but none came.

He stilled, no longer trembling, and she watched him, biting her lip.

“Veronica?”

“I have no idea,” she whispered, not wanting to disturb him. She wanted to touch him again, though, wanted to spend time with him when they weren't tormented by what they were seeing, wanted to talk to him, to know him.

She hesitated and then put her hand down near his, letting their fingers brush together. He shifted, lacing his fingers through hers and pulling her hand up against his chest, not opening his eyes.

“How cute,” Duke muttered. “Wait, why aren't you an incoherent mess?”

“No idea,” Veronica repeated. This didn't make much sense to her, as she was pretty sure she had no more control over what she could do—she didn't even know for sure what that was—than she had before she woke up. Still, something was different because she could touch him.

“That article on that guy who tried to kill the president,” Duke began, looking at Martha. “Did he say the stuff he saw was constant?”

Martha shook her head. “No, just that the vision about the president causing the end of the world came back over and over again so it had to be stopped.”

“That's _The Dead Zone,”_ Veronica said. “Wait. We already had this conversation.”

“Yes, and your boyfriend has a new nickname,” Duke said. “Maybe we should get you looked at by a doctor after all. If your memory is going—”

“My head hurts and it's a little hard to keep things straight right now, but I'm not brain damaged if that's what you're worried about,” Veronica said. “If it's true that the visions aren't constant, then maybe there's nothing to pick up on right now. He certainly seems a lot calmer this time around than the last few. And... not half-dead, either.”

“Yeah, but we don't know that it's what it is, either. We're just guessing here.”

Veronica didn't think there was any other way to handle things, since no one really knew much about this stuff unless they'd gone through it themselves, and it wasn't like they had anyone else around here who had that she could ask about it, either.

She leaned down to his ear. “You will have to let go of my hand sometime, you know.”

“Hmm. No. Hurts less that way.”

“What?”

“You... keep out... the command... hurts less... defy it.”

“I don't understand. What are you talking about?” Veronica asked, but he just shook his head, and his breathing changed and she was sure he was out again. She looked up at the other girls. “What happened when I was out?”

“We already told you. He tried to leave and passed out.”

“More specific.”

“He told us he had to leave,” Martha said. “We thought he was being... well, he could have been being noble and trying to spare you whatever was in his head by leaving, or he was being a complete jerk and going when you were out. It's kind of hard to be sure since none of us knows him.”

Veronica nodded, though it wasn't really enough. She wasn't sure how to put all the pieces together, but she had a feeling if she wanted answers from him, she wouldn't get them in front of anyone else.

“I should probably get going home myself,” Veronica said, and Martha started.

“You can't leave him here.”

“I wouldn't,” Veronica said. “I think he should come with me.”

“That's insane,” Duke said. “What are you going to do, hide him in your room?”

Veronica shrugged. “Why not?”

* * *

“Where am I?” JD asked, aware that he was not in the same room as before. This one had less pink, for one, and he thought he liked it more for some reason. New, yet somehow familiar, this place felt comfortable, unlike the last one. He couldn't say why. Neither of them should have been. He should have been back home with his father by now, and nothing should feel right besides that.

The command should be screaming in his head.

It wasn't.

He had no idea how that was possible.

“My room,” Veronica said, and he looked over at her. She had changed, wearing something he suspected felt a lot better than the blazer and skirt combo from earlier. No tights, either. Huh. That was a strange thing to notice.

“Yours?”

She threw a pillow at him. “Don't get any ideas. I just got a little tired of being a science experiment.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Can see that. Not sure why I can see, but yeah... wasn't fun being watched. Who were they, anyhow? I know the one's a Heather, but the other one—”

“Martha Dunnstock. She and Heather Duke were friends as kids and apparently still share a fascination with soulmates and abilities. They were trying to help, but there's a lot of vague or misinformation when it comes to what we seem to be.”

“I take it you have doubts.”

“I was always a bit of a skeptic, but whatever we have doesn't seem normal even for the rumors. And I'm still not sure how it works that before we couldn't seem to be awake at the same time but now we can. It's not like I suddenly gained control of whatever ability it is I have and was able to stop your pain and the visions just like that.”

“Hmm,” he said, still studying her. He thought there was something to her and stopping things. “Your friend thinks you're a sponge.”

She studied him in return. “You don't. You know more than you're telling. You know someone else who has an ability and a soulmate, don't you?”

“Ability, yeah. Soulmate? Fuck, no. His soul's too twisted for that. If he had one, he killed it.” JD saw the look on her face and laid back, laughing. “What, you thought this world was all fairy tales and happy ever afters? It's just as fucked up as anything else is. Maybe more. Think about us. That's not normal. And what we saw... If you saw what I did...”

“Yeah, but those are just possible futures,” she said, crawling over so she was looking down at him. “It doesn't have to be like that.”

“Not in the world I know,” he said, watching her frown at him. “You want to know what he can do? Anything he wants to. Because he just orders you to, and you do it. You can't stop yourself. You can't fight him. You can't say no. You just do it. He tells you to pick up the knife off the table and stab yourself in the leg, and you'll do it even though it hurts like hell and you're not suicidal. You do whatever he orders you to. And if he orders you to forget, you do, and there are times you have no idea what you did and it terrifies you but you can't get those memories back and he'll just laugh if you ask him about it.”

She flinched. “Why do I get the sick feeling that's your dad you're talking about?”

He didn't answer. There was no real need to.

“And this afternoon, when you tried to leave...”

“Had orders.”

“But you're here.”

“Yeah.”

“And you think that has something to do with me?”

“Yeah,” he said, aware she was even closer than she'd been before, and he had a feeling that might lead to something more. That, or she was thinking it was a good way to manipulate him. She wasn't wrong about that. It was working pretty good.

“So what am I, then?”

“I don't know if there's a term for it,” he said, licking his lips and wondering how far he could get if he kissed her.

“I don't need a term. I'll make one up if I have to,” she said. “I just want to understand what's going on right now.”

“Oh, I think that one's kind of obvious, and that's got nothing to do with abilities or anything else. That's just a guy and a girl and a lot of lust talking.”

She laughed, letting herself fall forward onto his chest. She snuggled up against him and his brain started to short-circuit. “Maybe, but I still want to know what your theory is about what I am.”

“If I tell you, do I get a kiss?”

“Maybe a lot more.”

“And maybe nothing.”

“Exactly.”

He adjusted his position so he could actually kiss her, brushing back some of her hair and memorizing the way her skin felt. She was something unique, and he knew it. Maybe he was wrong about her. Maybe he wasn't. He got one hell of a kiss out of it either way.

She pulled back, taking a breath. “Okay, not that I'm really going to bribe you with sexual favors or anything—”

“Oh, please do.”

She laughed. “Stop it. You're not being fair—”

“Fair's got nothing to do with this.”

“Just tell me.”

“I didn't get any sex yet.”

“Pervert. I wouldn't do that with you just for information, even if you might be my soulmate. And that's a big if, you know. I don't know that I believe in it, and maybe I don't want it to be you.”

“There goes croquet.”

“What?”

She must not have seen that one. He shrugged, and she hit him. He knew he couldn't avoid it forever, but he liked this, talking with her, pretending it could last, that things wouldn't fall apart as soon as his father came for him.

“Tell me,” she said. “Please.”

He closed his eyes, letting out a breath. “You're... I think you can actually control other abilities. You can shut them off. You take hold of them and silence them.”

“That doesn't fit.”

“You stopped his commands. It fits.”

“But you and the visions—”

“Also gone.”

She trembled, and he shifted to wrap his arms around her, holding on. She didn't want to believe it, and he didn't blame her. He wouldn't want it any more than he wanted his own.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica and JD continue to talk, and Bud looks for his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this thought that maybe a past heartbreak would explain JD's mom settling for Bud Dean... and maybe part of her depression. Hmm.

* * *

_  
“You were too young, Tricia. You know that. It should never have happened.”_

_She didn't bother looking up. They said that like she asked for it, and she didn't. She hadn't intended to go out that day and meet anyone, and she'd never thought she'd find anyone like him, with his sweet smile and terrible sense of humor. She hadn't planned on staying out late or any of the rest of it. They'd just talked at first, like they'd never been apart and knew everything about each other even though they were strangers._

_She was stupid. She was in love._

_She thought it would last forever, not less than a week._

_She'd never dreamed he'd get taken from her like that. Who would? They were young, they were supposed to live forever, and he seemed invincible. So did she. Everything was perfect, and they were just that cute little couple holding hands and running in fields and laughing._

_They were happy, and she'd never known that much happiness could exist._

_Maybe she was an idiot, but she'd loved every minute of it, and she hadn't given one thought to it ending. They had everything she thought she ever wanted, and the whole future was ahead of them, with things great and wonderful, even if she had yet to tell anyone what she thought she'd found, what she swore she could do._

_His hand in hers made her feel a confidence she'd never known, and she could do anything in the world, things her cousins hadn't even dreamed of, she was so sure of it._

_And then he died._

_It was sudden. It was violent. He was ripped away from her in a senseless act she still couldn't wrap her head around, and she couldn't stop the image from replaying in her head, and all she wanted to do was run. She had to get away from here, where everything reminded her of him and all they'd lost._

_He was her forever._

_She didn't want to go on without him._

_“You're young,” they told her. “You'll get over him.”_

_She knew the didn't understand. Couldn't. They were happy. They had their forever, but hers was gone, and she didn't know that she even wanted to live anymore. She had to get out of here, and she'd do it anyway she could._

_That was not her first mistake. Not her last._

_Still probably her worst._

_She left with Bud Dean, never to look back._

* * *

“When did you first know?”

“Know what?”

“That your dad had an ability?”

He looked up at the ceiling, not really wanting to think about it. “It was... always there. I mean, when I was little, I didn't really know, but he probably yelled at me to shut up and I did it. And I don't know... I was used to, mostly. I didn't... I guess the first time I ever really saw it was when he did it to my mom. I remember they were arguing—I don't know what about, that part's gone.... I just... She said absolutely not, she was done, and she was leaving... He said she wasn't, that she was going to march herself right into the bedroom and think about what she'd done, and stay there until he let her out again. She'd been cooking. The food burned. It stank. I remember it smelled... and I wanted to go after her, but he'd told me not to, and she didn't come back and didn't... and he just sat there, drinking and staring at me... and I don't know why that stands out because it was always like that, him telling us what to do and us having to do it.”

Veronica reached over to touch his hair, and JD almost grabbed her hand to stop her. God, no one but his dad had touched him in so long, and his dad wasn't gentle. This was so... kind it made him feel even worse when he found it a bit arousing.

“I'm sorry to bring up bad memories for you.”

He shrugged. “Not like there's a lot of good ones you can bring up, actually, so whatever.”

“None at all?”

He shook his head. “No, not really. Like... I think other creeps, they'd leave you alone for a while, but with him... the stuff he says sticks. There's a limit, but he could tell us to stay where we were for days, and we would. Wouldn't even move for the damned bathroom. That was fun.”

“You don't want to tell me that kind of stuff,” she said, watching him. “Why are you?”

“I don't know,” he admitted. “There's something about you... I kind of felt it in the cafeteria, but then again, I was also thinking you were pretty damned cute and a hell of a lot of trouble—”

“Trouble?”

He knew she was teasing, but he went with it. Something about her drew that out of him, teasing, laughter and smiles he didn't even think he was capable of after all this time with his dad. 

“Popular girls are trouble.”

“Are we?”

“Always.”

She smiled, leaning over for a kiss, and he didn't stop her, even if he knew he should. This was all a little too close and a bit much, and they'd be acting out one of those damned romance novels in a second, though in some ways, he wouldn't deny it was what he wanted—he wanted her, and he'd never been given much freedom to want _anything_ before.

“I want to ask you more questions,” she said, and he looked at her, unable to help the grimace. Nothing he told her would be good, and he didn't want to talk about it. “Come on, you're more of an expert than the girls are since you have actually lived with someone with an ability.”

“Correction. I live with a fucked up monster who can make anyone do what he wants. That's not—I'm not an expert. Half the time I don't even know what he does because he can throw in commands to forget everything forever. That's... I don't even know what it is.”

“Is it stupid I want to offer to make a lot of good memories with you?”

“Flattering,” he corrected, thinking about how much he wanted that. He'd do anything with her. For her. Shit. “And dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“We're alone in your room,” he reminded her, deciding to keep the teasing tone instead of the heavier, scarier one. “And you are tempting the hell out of me right now. I keep thinking of doing a lot more than kissing you, which given what we keep talking about, is pretty messed up, but there's something about you... I think I'd still want you in the weirdest, most fucked up places and stuff.”

She studied him. “Like in a car when for some reason we're both afraid but we can't keep our hands off each other, either?”

“Oh, so you saw that one,” he said, watching her blush as she remembered it. He had to admit the tone of it unsettled him as much as he'd liked some of the rest of it.

“I did.”

He was almost afraid to ask. “That what you want?” 

She sighed, rolling onto her back again. “I don't know _what_ I want. I want to understand what's happening to us. I want to know you. And... I want you. I just... I can't sort through it very well. I start on trying to understand us and then somehow keep getting distracted.”

He couldn't help the smirk. “I can't imagine why.”

“Don't be an ass.”

“Hmm. Don't think I've shown you that, but then you could have looked while I was unconscious. What did you think?”

“Stop it,” she giggled, smacking him. “You're not making this easier.”

“That's because it's not any easier for me, trust me,” he told her, propping his head up on his elbow and looking down at her. He was just as conflicted as she was, wanting her to the point where it was about to push out anything else, sense and practicality and the knowledge that his dad would kill him once he found out where he was.

Damn it, if his dad got anywhere near Veronica...

“What's wrong?”

Did she have to know him that well? He didn't want her to, didn't want her seeing all that, to be that vulnerable and open. That wasn't a good thing. His father would punish the hell out of something like that.

And yet, under her look, JD folded, cursing himself and his weakness to her.

“My dad.”

“He doesn't know where you are, does he?”

JD shook his head. “No. I don't know how he would. I didn't tell him, but then... he didn't have to... he'd ordered me to go back home as soon as school was done. And I should have. I tried to. I... I've never actually defied one of his orders before.”

She bit her lip, looking worried. “What are you going to do?”

“I don't know.”

* * *

Bud looked around the school grounds, frustrated. Only a few stragglers were around, and it was easy to see that Jason wasn't one of them. The general attitude of the students suggested laziness, that they had nothing to fear, so if anything happened to his son, it hadn't infringed on anyone else in a way that left them unsettled. They could care less.

In some respects, that was a good thing. Bud didn't want a lot of attention drawn to Jason, not when he was so close to figuring out the last pieces. He knew Jason was an activator, that he'd been the one to set off Bud's ability, which had not shown itself until after his son's birth, but he had yet to discover definitively why his son had set him off.

Jason didn't give everyone he came in contact with an ability, that wasn't how he worked, though Bud hardly thought the child had any idea what he'd done when he was a baby, so it wasn't like the kid could pick and choose who he gave it to, not that Bud could see.

Of course, if any unconscious part of Jason knew what he'd done, he probably feared giving anyone else an ability after experiencing Bud's.

Maybe that was it, though. Maybe Jason's strength was so great he feared what he could do if he was without control, so he'd given it away to Bud to keep him in check.

That was a lot to expect from the irritating, drooling creature that Bud had first been presented with and sometimes wondered if it belonged to him—he wasn't under a lot of illusions about Patti. She'd been a mess when he met her, little better than jailbait, and he'd brought her along because it amused him, then ended up stuck with her when she turned up pregnant.

He'd been angry about settling down that young, not that he had, choosing their nomadic life to piss her off and punish her for the child, but then the kid gave him the best gift in the world, and while he'd really had no use for Patti again, her son was a different matter.

Jason was a puzzle, but Bud felt sure he was the key to a lot more power.

That just made losing him now more irritating. He'd brought the boy back to Sherwood to see if that made any difference, since he'd been born here and this was the first place Bud remembered a command working. He'd dismissed it at first, the times it shut up the squalling baby in an instant, only realizing how powerful it was when his wife started obeying him blindly.

He needed to understand what made his son trigger abilities, and once he knew, he'd use that to his advantage. He'd tried commands before, but Jason didn't do anything then, even when he responded to even the most insane and humiliating ones outside of activating abilities.

It would seem that was the one thing Jason could not be ordered to do, and Bud had to know why, had to get past that barrier. He wanted so much more than the ability to make others do things, as amusing as it was and easily one of the greatest abilities in the world.

He knew he was less powerful than his son, and that irritated the hell out of him. That had to change. It _would_ change.

He approached the first student he found, a stoned metal head who barely understood that Bud was there. “'Sup, runner dude? You here for a track meet or something?”

“I'm looking for my son. Dark hair, dark coat. Name's Jason Dean.”

“Don't know him.”

Bud was going to kill this kid. Or at the very least see to it that he maimed himself. He had no patience for this kind of stupidity. “Did you see him today?”

“Don't think so.”

He forced himself to be patient. This was still a potential source of information, as much as he wanted to tell the kid to do something that would cause him a slow, painful death. “Clear your fogged head. Remember everything. Was Jason here today?”

“Uh... yeah. Yeah... he was. Think. Saw two jocks beating the crap out of him in the yard. Must have done something to piss them off.”

“What did he do?”

The kid shrugged. “No idea. Wasn't inside. Just saw them drag him out and start hitting him. Then that girl ran up and tried to stop it. They didn't. Not before he broke the one's nose.”

“What?” Bud demanded. That wasn't possible. Jason was under the order to behave, and that meant he couldn't fight, not even to defend himself. Bud knew that one well. “How?”

“He smacked his head into the guy behind him. Was pretty good. Blood everywhere... One of the Heathers got involved and the jocks took off. The girls took him with them. Not sure where they went, but he might have gotten very lucky. Not everyone gets a Heather, you know?”

That also went against Bud's edict to behave, since the last thing he needed was his son knocking up some random girl and passing along some gift to her or the child. “Where is this girl?”

“Dunno. Not like I ever got that close to the Heathers.”

“Heathers?”

“Three of them. All named Heather. Most popular girls in school.”

“And which of them was he with?”

The kid shrugged. “A Heather's a Heather, man. I don't know. She was hot. Her friend wasn't, but whatever. I gotta find me a tiger.”

Annoyed, Bud glared at him. “What you're going to do is walk straight into traffic.”

“Okay.”

Watching the idiot rid the world of his stupidity did nothing to cool Bud's temper, and he knew he needed a better source to find out just who these damned Heathers were and which one had his son.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JD's mom knew more than she was saying, Bud gets misinformed, and things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to answer a specific question going into this section, and I didn't. It came close, but it didn't happen. And the first idea I had for it didn't work out, and then this happened, and I don't even know anymore. Again. As usual.

* * *

_  
“You shouldn't have come,” Tricia said, fretting. She looked up from her son's crib to face her cousin, afraid. If Bud came home and saw anyone else here, he'd be angry. She knew him well enough to know that. He didn't like outsiders. He didn't even like her most days, and she was scared of what he'd do to Jason. “How did you find me?”_

_Her cousin snorted. “Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I can find anyone, anywhere.”_

_Tricia sighed. “Please, just leave me alone.”_

_“You know I can't do that,” he told her. “If you weren't grieving, if you were thinking clearly, you'd understand that. You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't have—”_

_“Have what?” Tricia asked, looking at him. “Not have my son? He's all I have left of forever. And I tried... I tried so hard to forget that, but I couldn't. I was ready to give up, but then... then I felt him. And I knew he was special. He saved me. I'm only here because of him.”_

_Taylor sighed and crossed to her. “Look at me, Trish. Really look.”_

_“No. Not again. Never again.”_

_“You can't shut off what you are,” he said, shaking his head at her. “And you can't go on ignoring what you've done. You knew better than this, and grief excuses only so much—”_

_“They told me to get rid of my baby.”_

_He sighed. “They're scared. You know every generation's been stronger than the last. He's fourth. On both sides. That's dangerous, and he's way too young to control it.”_

_“He's still a baby,” Tricia said. “He can't hurt anyone.”_

_“His ability is already active,” Taylor disagreed, and she stared at him in disbelief. That wasn't possible. No one's ability was active at birth. Meeting a soulmate was the trigger, the catalyst. There was a nuero-physical response, something none of them really knew how to explain and doctors weren't looking into enough, but it was real and it happened._

_“No. That's not—You're wrong. You can't know that.”_

_“I can,” Taylor said, completely calm. “You know I can.”_

_She winced. It was part of his ability, the one that let him find anyone anywhere as long as he'd once had a sense of them. Some people called him a psychic. He didn't like it, since he didn't get visions, just a sense that he could track better than any bloodhound. He made a good living as a bounty hunter. She'd always known he could find her if he wanted to, but she'd hoped, being his favorite, he'd leave her be._

_“What's even more dangerous is that only one part of it is active,” Taylor said, and she stared at him. “He'll only get more powerful the longer he spends with his soulmate.”_

_“There's no one here that could have—”_

_“You have to leave this town at the very least. Given the kinds of things that run through our family, he could have the kinds of abilities we've never seen before or every single one that's come before him, and Trish, if you really care about him—you have to stop it. It'll drive him insane.”_

_“What is it, Taylor? What do you know?”_

_“Fear,” Taylor answered slowly, as though the sense of it he got unsettled him. “He scares himself... he made someone to control him.”_

_“That's not even possible.”_

_“They say a single shift to the left or the right determines if the ability comes and what it will be. Your son can control that for others. And he has your sight. He sees into himself... and it terrifies him. He wants to be stopped.”_

_“No.”_

_“You cannot ignore this.”_

_“I won't let you hurt him.”_

_“I am not here to hurt him. You're the one hurting him. Look at where you've brought him, at what you've taken away from him. Understanding, experience, all the things we know, you're shutting him off from that and denying him help he desperately needs. He's too small, can't understand the consequences, and that's going to hurt him more badly than you can imagine.”_

_“You're lying. You all wanted him dead and you can go. He's just a baby. He can't—you're twisting what you can do, making me think he can do more than he can, but you're the liar and I want you gone. If you ever come near him again—”_

_“Be reasonable. I would never hurt a child, and this is so much bigger than you or him. If the wrong person ends up being able to use him—”_

_“You're lying,” she insisted. “Get out of my house. My son's not a monster. He's just a baby, and you... you can't scare me into going back... I won't forgive any of you for this.”_

_“What happened was an accident, and if either of you had been willing to calm down and listen, it would never have happened. It's stupid and it's senseless, but you're so hell bent on having your Romeo and Juliet doomed romance that you're refusing to see what anyone who's read the damned play figured out a long damned time ago—they did it to themselves when they wouldn't listen and made a bunch of stupid choices. So did you.”_

_“He wouldn't have hurt anyone.”_

_Taylor sighed. “He may not have meant to, but he did, and you know as well as I do that once he understood what he'd done he turned it on himself to end it. I'm sorry. It's—if you could have had more time, more control... Don't let that be your son. Let us help you.”_

_She started to answer but then the front door opened, and she knew Bud was back. Panicked, she turned to her cousin. “You have to go. Now. Go before he finds you here. Please.”_

* * *

_She didn't believe Taylor._

_Or... part of her did, but part of her refused to believe it. Jason's still so small, so tiny, the idea of him being a threat is ridiculous, and it had to be wrong. She wouldn't believe that of her son, not ever. Just like she didn't believe it of Micheal._

_He'd been a sweetheart, and if he hadn't felt threatened, nothing bad would have happened. They probably had done too much, gone too far, but they hadn't known, and this wasn't supposed to happen. None of it should have, it was all so fast and sudden..._

_It wasn't right. None of it was._

_“I can't go back to them,” she told Jason, rocking him in her arms. “But I won't leave you without some kind of help. I'm going to write it down, everything I know. I'll put it on paper so you can look at it when you're older in case anything happens to me, but it shouldn't. And I'll teach you. I'll tell you everything you need to know about what you are.”_

_Jason gave her a look like he didn't believe her, and she felt sure that was just her own mind making too much of Taylor's criticism._

_“It's not bad here. I know it seems worse, but I... I found someone who didn't have a soulmate. He won't be hurt by it, and it's just a bit of time, a bit of distance. That's all we need.”_

_Jason continued to stare at her with really reproachful eyes for a baby so young. She grimaced. She didn't like to look too closely at what she could see in Bud, and she refused to look at her son the same way, but even without the deep sight she was capable of, she knew. Bud was a dangerous, violent man. He would hurt them both. She had seen it back when they met, but she hadn't cared as long as he took her far away from her family. She just wanted to get away. She knew as soon as she got some money, she had to leave him._

_She would._

_“This is temporary. I didn't have any money when I left, but I'm going to get a job and work again, like I did before I got too big with you. And we'll find a good place and a good way to live.”_

_He looked at her like he had something of Grandfather's ability to see possibilities, to see the future, and he didn't see that for them. Grandfather had that expression all the time, and he'd always looked so sad when he saw her._

_“I hope you make other choices,” he'd say, and she'd just stare at him in confusion._

_Now she feared she understood why he'd look at her like this. He'd seen this as a possible future, and he'd wanted her to stop herself, but he wouldn't make the choice for her or tell her and cause it to happen because she tried to defy what he said._

_If she hadn't tried to defy them..._

_She closed her eyes and held on tighter to her son. “I won't leave you alone with this. I swear I won't. I'll give you answers somehow.”_

* * *

Bud looked up at the house.

“This is it?”

“This is Heather's house, yeah,” the teenager beside him said. “I don't know if she's here. She could be anywhere. She's Heather.”

Bud gave the kid a long, dark look. “And you're sure that if any of these Heathers had something to do with my son, it's this one?”

“Had to be, man. Had to be. Couldn't have been the others. No way. No how.”

Bud grimaced, not sure why all that he could find to give him answers were idiots, but each one irritated him more than the last. This street was not nearly as full of traffic, so there was no good way to be rid of this loser.

“Find a tall place. Climb to the highest part you can reach. And then jump.”

The kid nodded, walking away from him, and Bud gave the house another glance. If only his idiot wife hadn't thought she could obscure her messages for their son in fiction. He didn't know what the hell to do with most of it, and he'd had to waste years disproving a lot of it.

He felt like he was wasting time now, and that only made him angrier. He wanted his son, and he didn't want to spend any longer than he had to finding him. Jason was the key to something big, and even his mother seemed to know that, as she scribbled in her paranoia.

He had those ravings, but they still made little sense to him. She'd meant them as some sort of lesson for him—or maybe she just fancied herself a romance novelist, but none of her stories actually said how he was supposed to use the boy to get what he wanted.

He almost wished she was alive to kill a second time. He sometimes felt like her death was too quick and easy for the trouble she'd caused him.

Only she'd given him Jason, and how could he really be upset about that?

Bud walked up to the house, ringing the door bell. The door opened, and a blonde girl opened the door, frowning at him.

“Can I help you?”

“I'm looking for Heather.”

“Yeah? So's half the town,” she said, smiling smugly. “Just what do you think you're going to do about it?”

“I don't have to do anything,” Bud told her. “You will do everything I tell you to.”

She snorted. “Is that supposed to scare me?”

“No,” he said honestly. “Now let me in. We're going to have a nice, long talk.”

* * *

“You're quiet again.”

He snorted, but Veronica would dare him to deny it, as he was definitely not saying much, not since he started worrying about what to do about his dad. She had never met him, but just hearing about him scared her, and she didn't know that she could let him go anywhere near that man again. He brought something out in her that made her want to protect him, to keep him safe and close, and she'd never really felt that way about anyone, not even one of her friends.

Oh, sure, she'd stood up for Betty before, and McNamara and Duke, but she'd gotten in between him and Ram Sweeney's fist, and that was insane.

“You think maybe we should do more testing?”

He stared at her. “What?”

“My ability. Yours. Trying to figure out where it starts and stops and how to use it,” she said, feeling a little stupid. “What happens when this... wears off?”

“Maybe it never will.”

She snorted. “I doubt that.”

“Yeah,” he said, and the tone of his voice had her wanting to comfort him. She laid her head back down on his chest and snuggled close to him. “This your idea of testing?”

“What would this test?”

“Um... our... uh... resolve.”

“Resolve?”

“How long we could last before temptation got the better of us,” he said, and she lifted her head to look at him. Oh, hell, he meant that. She supposed it didn't really surprise her. They were in close quarters, bodies touching in fairly intimate ways. They were teenagers with hormones and angst and peer pressure and it was some kind of rite or something, supposedly meant you were cool or an adult or something stupid like that.

And then there was the whole... they were soulmates thing.

“Are we?” Veronica asked. “You think we really are?”

He closed his eyes. “In some universes, sure. We make the right choices, we make it work. Others... it goes very, very badly.”

“You saw that?”

He nodded, not explaining any of it. She winced, wondering if he didn't think it was worth the risk, being involved with her.

“And?”

He leaned forward to kiss her, pulling her back down with him, and they're even closer than before, flush against each other, and she could feel everything, from the wrinkles on his shirt to the button of his jeans and a bit more than that, too, and it both excited her and scared her, and she knew this could be a real mistake, but damn it was hard to care when everything felt so good.

And then, just as it seemed like they were going to take this farther than they should, he pulled away from her, curling up on his side and putting his hands on his head like it hurt, swearing profusely as he did.

“What?”

He didn't—couldn't?—answer her, just moaned in pain and she reached over to touch him, a bit afraid of what she might see, but needing to know.

_Heather in a pink robe, yelling about corn nuts and falling forward into a glass table._

_Heather in her kitchen, backing away from the sink and refusing the drink._

_Heather puking up in her bathroom and flipping them off._

_Heather's lips going blue, an unholy sound coming out of her throat. She flailed and fell._

_Heather dying. Over and over again. The outfits changed. Her hair was up, it was down. It was loose, it was free. It was wet. She'd just showered. She'd just woke up. She just got home. She was about to go out._

_She refused to drink. She drank. She puked. She choked. She died._

Veronica yanked her hand free. He'd gone still again, and she swallowed, trying to decide if that meant that had already come true in one of its forms.

Heather was dead, wasn't she?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JD has some clues he doesn't even know he has.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny (well, funny is a relative word) how one scene can make so many other things have to change. This was one of those times.

* * *

_“Where's your mother?”_

_JD looked at the man and back at his feet. He hated his dad so much right now. He wished Bud was the one going in the ground right now, not his mom. He wanted her back, though he knew that wouldn't ever happen. His mom was gone, and now he was alone with his dad._

_And because his dad had given him orders, he couldn't speak. He couldn't cry. He couldn't scream and tell everyone that the bastard had killed her. He'd ordered her in there to die. He'd said it, and she'd done it._

_JD had seen it. He knew._

_He couldn't tell anyone. He'd been ordered not to._

_“Hey,” the man in front of him repeated, frowning at him. “I asked you a question. Where is she? Where's Tricia?”_

_JD was confused. Didn't this guy know it was her funeral? How could he not know? He lifted his hand, surprised to see that wasn't against the rules, and pointed to the casket._

_The man looked over at it and shook his head. “No. No... This can't... I swear I could... No, it was different. I knew it was. Damn it.”_

_JD looked over at his father, who was faking the grieving husband and getting sympathy from everyone else. Sick bastard. JD wanted to run and leave, but he couldn't. He'd been ordered to stay. He hated this. This was so wrong._

_The man touched his shoulder, kneeling next to him. “Did your mother ever tell you about any of her cousins?”_

_JD could only frown. The answer was no, but he wasn't even allowed to shake his head._

_“You can talk to me. You don't know me, but she was my cousin. I know—she probably didn't tell you anything about us. She was so mad at us and so messed up and confused, didn't understand that we were trying to help and that we weren't—we never would have expected her to give you up.”_

_JD was tempted to hit him, but his father had ordered him to behave, so he was standing still and being good, as much as he hated it. Give him up? Why would his mom's family want her to do that? And who said this guy was even family? His mom didn't have any._

_“I'm not doing this right. I just... I could still sense her, and I thought that meant she was... but she's dead, and it's thrown me off,” the man said, shaking his head. “Look, I know she probably didn't tell you much, and you're not sure what to think of me, but there's a lot you should know now that you're older and—”_

_“What do you think you're doing?” Bud demanded. “No one gave you permission to talk to my son.”_

_“I know, but he was alone, and he looked upset, so I thought—”_

_“What, that you'd seduce him like the pervert you are? Is that how sick you are, that you'd do that here, at his mother's funeral?”_

_“No,” the other man said, offended. “I'm—I was Tricia's cousin. I was just trying to—to comfort him and explain why we hadn't been there before—”_

_“That's a very nice lie, but I'm not buying it.”_

_“Bud? Is something wrong? Can we help you with—”_

_“Go away,” Bud snapped. “Sit down and shut up.”_

_The women who'd come close shrank back, walking over to their chairs and sitting down. Others tried to talk to them, and they said nothing. Bud grumbled to himself._

_His mother's cousin looked down at JD in horror. “What did you do?”_

_JD frowned at him, confused. He hadn't done that. His dad did. His dad had ordered them like he'd ordered him, and it wasn't his fault._

_“I want you to leave.”_

_“I'm not going anywhere without the boy. He's family, and we know how to help him. You don't. You need to let him go. His mother would have wanted—”_

_“I don't give a fuck what she wanted. The boy is mine, and no one is going to take him. We both know what he is, and I'm not stupid enough to give him up,” Bud insisted. “Maybe I can't use him yet, but I will.”_

_“You can't. That's not how it works. Even with what you can do—”_

_“Leave. Now. Don't come near him again.”_

_His mother's cousin left, just like that, obeying the order, and Bud turned to JD. “You will forget all about that man, Jason. Forget anything and everything he told you. Forever. There's no one else, no one is going to save you. You're mine. You obey me.”_

* * *

_“Your father's ability does have limits. The orders he gives will fade,” the man said, sitting down next to JD in the schoolyard. He frowned, trying to figure out where he'd come from or how the hell he knew about what his father did. No one did. He couldn't tell, even when he hadn't been ordered not to. No one believed him._

_“I suppose you're under some now, aren't you?”_

_JD looked at him. Was he supposed to answer that? Why would he? No one believed him, and he didn't want to get in trouble. He knew how bad that was going to be once his father found out about it._

_“I wish my ability was one that could counter his,” the other man said, frowning. “It would be nice if it were that simple. Then I could have a real conversation with you, and you'd be able to understand so much more than you do now.”_

_JD twisted his lip. Then he leaned forward and grabbed a stick, using it to carve letters into the dirt._ Who? __

_“You don't remember me? Your mother's cousin? We met at her funeral.”_

_JD wanted to shake his head. He couldn't. No talking, not even nodding, not to strangers. Yes, ma'am or no, ma'am to his teacher or the principal—he hadn't liked that very much and JD was in trouble again even though he'd done what his father said and behaved._

_“He ordered you to forget, but... That makes no sense. It wore off for me. He told me not to see you again, but it has a limit. It wore off, and I found you again. That's what I do. I find people.”_

_JD didn't know what that meant or why he cared._

_“Look, your mom was... special, too. She could look at a person and see who they really were. No pretenses, no lies. She knew what they were deep down inside. She saw the good... and the bad.”_

_JD snorted. If his mom knew that, why had she married his dad?_

_“I don't think she stayed with him by choice, not after she had you. I know why she left with him—he was the first way out of town and away from us she could find, and she didn't care how dangerous it was. She was... unhinged after Micheal's death.”_

_JD carved letters into the dirt again._ So? __

_“Micheal was your father. Your real father. Not Bud Dean.”_

_JD stared at him. Impossible. His mom always said he was Bud's son. She swore it in tears when his father got mad and ordered her to tell him the truth._

_“There's a lot more that I should tell you. You need to come with me.”_

_JD felt his eyes well up with tears. He couldn't. His dad had made sure he couldn't go anywhere. He had to go right home after school, and if he didn't, it would hurt. He couldn't resist it. He'd have to go home. And he had to tell Bud everything that happened. Even this._

_“It'll be okay as long as we get you away from him. Once the orders wear off, you'll be okay. You'll be safe.”_

_JD wrote a big NO in the dirt._

_“If you come with me, we'll keep you safe. And we'll explain everything.”_

__Can't. __

_“You have to.”_

_JD didn't know how to make this man understand. He found a new, clear patch of dirt and wrote._

__I have to go home. He already ordered me to. Can't disobey. __

_“Okay. Then we'll just... try tomorrow, maybe.”_

_JD pointed to the no again._

_“You have to try. If you don't, you'll never be free, and he can't be allowed to use you.”_

_JD snorted. Like his father didn't now. He used the stick and wrote out another message._

__He killed my mom. He'll kill you. He'll order you to kill yourself. __

_“No.”_

__I have to tell him you were here. I have orders. __

_“Shit. Can't you—no, you can't. I'm sorry. I'll go again. We'll find a way out of this. I swear, I'm not giving up on you.”_

* * *

“What are you doing?”

“Reading,” Martha said, aware of Heather glaring at her. She knew this wasn't what the other girl wanted—Heather hadn't wanted to be caught dead with her in years, and it still surprised her that Heather had chosen to involve her, even if this was the sort of thing they'd dreamed about discovering for years. “And yes, I know it's a romance novel and no, it very likely won't help, but it's still one of my favorites.”

Heather leaned over and looked at the cover. She sat back. “Oh. That one.”

Martha figured her reaction was because this one had her crying for days back when they first read it. She didn't think there was anyone who could read it not get moved by it. The tale of Hannah, who found her soulmate when they were teenagers, ended up pregnant with their baby, thought she lost him when she had a horrible vision of another realm, and was told not to keep her baby because he'd be too strong, dangerous for everyone. She'd had to flee her family and everything she knew, running for years with a terrible man, determined to forget everything—her love, her abilities, even at times her son.

Then, in the end, she found out her loss was only a vision, her love was still alive, and her family was reunited to live happily ever after. Her son turned out to be as super powerful as her family had feared, with both his parents' gifts, and he went on to save humanity from a terrible evil, his own soulmate at his side.

Of course, that was in the sequel. The first one ended with Hannah finding her true love again.

“Fortunately for us, Veronica is not pregnant or likely to get pregnant, seeing as her soulmate goes out cold when she's not touching him and if she is, she's out,” Heather said. “Last thing we need is that.”

Martha nodded. Veronica was too young for that, though so was Hannah in the book. “That's not something to worry about, but I'd been thinking about it again—Hannah managed to bury her ability, and that was something that might help.”

“Uh... she lost it half to trauma and the rest to alcohol and being abused by the guy she took off with,” Heather said, disgusted. “How does that help at all?”

“Well, I remembered, too, that the guy with the visions telling him to kill the president was put on medication, and while we're not doctors and can't get our hands on psychotropics or anything... we might be able to find something over the counter or even natural that would help if we knew what to look for.”

“I doubt they published anything that said what he was put on to control the visions.”

“No, and alcohol doesn't really help, though with some parents, I think they could probably get a hold of it... it just wouldn't be a very good thing to use to cope.”

“Only it might get them a few minutes to straighten themselves out, maybe.”

“Maybe.”

“Is it worth it?”

“Probably not to us, but to them? It could be,” Martha said. Her phone rang, and she reached for it, startled. No one ever called her anymore, not since she and Heather stopped being friends. They used to talk a lot when they were younger, but now. “Hello?”

“Martha, is Heather still there?”

“Yeah, Veronica, she's here,” Martha said. “What's wrong? Is it—is he okay? You shouldn't have left. We didn't actually find anything that helps, or explains things and if he's worse—we should come, right? We should come over right now.”

“It's not—okay, he's out cold again, but—”

“What is it?” Heather asked. Martha looked at her, and then Heather yanked the phone from her. “Veronica, what is it? What's wrong?”

* * *

Heather Chandler wasn't answering her phone.

Veronica put her phone down and looked over at JD again. He was still out of it, so she wasn't sure what to do about him, either, though as long as he was breathing, she thought he'd be okay. Or at least, she really, really hoped he would be.

Veronica started pacing her room. What did she do now? She couldn't get a hold of Heather, so what next? Call the police? What if it wasn't what she thought it was? They'd come and talk to her parents and she'd be in so much trouble and she'd probably lose her phone privileges on top of getting grounded, and she couldn't really afford to get banned from seeing JD when they had a lot to figure out about what they were and how to deal with it.

She grabbed the phone again, dialing a different number this time. Then she swore at her self and hung up, putting the phone back down as she dragged out the white pages. She flipped it open to the Ds and found the number she needed.

She waited impatiently for the call to connect. “Martha, is Heather still there?”

“Yeah, Veronica, she's here,” Martha told her. “What's wrong? Is it—is he okay? You shouldn't have left. We didn't actually find anything that helps, or explains things and if he's worse—we should come, right? We should come over right now.”

“It's not—okay, he's out cold again, but—”

“Veronica, what is it? What's wrong?” Duke asked. She must have taken the phone from Martha.

“Do you know what Heather Chandler was doing after school today? Was she going straight home? I can't get a hold of her,” Veronica said. “I tried, but I can't—maybe I need to call the police or an ambulance or—”

“What the fuck is going on, Veronica? Why are you asking about Chandler? You took Dead Zone back to your place and—shit. What did he see?”

“It was bad,” Veronica said. “I couldn't watch for long... kept seeing her die, over and over again. She... I think she was poisoned, but... I don't—I can't get a hold of her at her house. I don't know what to do—JD's out cold again—when he saw that, it hurt—and I don't—”

“Why would anyone poison Heather?”

“I don't know,” Veronica said. Then she put a hand to her head. “Honestly, there are times when we'd all gladly see her dead, but that was... scary wrong and... I want to go see if she's all right, but I can't leave him...”

“I think he'll be fine, but if Heather's actually in trouble—”

“Hold on,” Veronica said, crossing back to JD's side. He still hadn't stirred. “Let me see if I can get anything from him again.”

“That's really risky and—”

Veronica didn't hear the rest. She had already put her hand on his, and her mind got hit with more images.

_Duke vomiting in the bathroom, someone grabbing her head and shoving it down into the same toilet she'd just used and holding her there until she died._

_McNamara swallowing pills, crying all the while._

_Duke walking to the kitchen in a daze, taking out a knife and using it on her wrists._

_Someone pushing McNamara down the stairs._

Veronica yanked her hand back and shuddered, whimpering as she pressed the phone into her chest. That was awful. What was this? Why couldn't he see anything good? Why were her friends in there—did he want them dead?

“Veronica! Answer me! What is going on?”

“Heather... I saw... someone is trying to kill you... all of you... All the Heathers.”

“That's insane. Dead Zone is a creep. Why would he picture that?”

Veronica didn't know.

And then she did.

“Oh, God. It's him.”

“Your boyfriend's a psychotic killer? Great. I suppose I'm not that surprised—”

“Not JD. His dad. JD told me he's got the ability to make anyone do what he tells them to do. That's why you were walking like a zombie, why Heather took those pills, why Heather drank the poison even though in the one she refused to and ran—Oh, God. He killed her. And he's going to kill you, too.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heather and Veronica react to the threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had meant to get a bit further in things this chapter, but the end of that scene said it was the end of the chapter, and while I tried to write forward, it just didn't feel right, so... I left it there.

* * *

Heather told herself she wasn't terrified. She just... wasn't.

Except she'd been scared enough when Dead Zone was having creepy visions of Chandler dying, and it only got worse when it was about her and McNamara, and now his dad was some kind of super creep who could order people to their death and not only had he killed Chandler, he was going to kill them.

Yeah, she was scared. She had good reason to be scared, if any of that was true.

She glanced toward the book Martha had been reading. She could have accused Veronica of making it up, taking it right from the pages of the novel, as Hannah's abusive boyfriend had that power and had hurt her and her son with it more than once before her true love showed back up and saved her, but while Veronica might have read them—they were some of the most popular soulmate stories ever written—Heather didn't think she was thinking about books right now.

“Okay,” Heather said, proud of herself when her voice came out kind of calm, “say he is killing people and wants us dead. Why?”

“I don't know,” Veronica said, and then she swore loudly into the phone. “It's JD. He was supposed to go back home right after school. He was under orders to do it, but he didn't go.”

“You mean when he said he had to leave and collapsed—”

“He had to go, and not being able to obey the order physically hurt him,” Veronica said. “He didn't go home, but if his dad went looking for him—”

“They would have told him that we took him from the school, but why go after Heather Chandler, then? She didn't want anything to do with him. She had Kurt and Ram take him outside and...”

“And they beat him up, which I'm sure his dad wouldn't be happy about. So... if he just knew about that, he'd want to hurt her, but if whoever told him that we took him from there only said it was a Heather who helped do it—”

“Then we're all going to die because of your boyfriend. Thanks a lot, Veronica.”

“Hey, this is not—”

“It's his dad that's the problem,” Martha said, “Not him, and why are we even arguing about that if you and McNamara are in danger? And someone will tell him there's a Veronica in the Heathers, too, so that means you're in trouble, too, Veronica.”

“I know. Um... It's probably not safe to go by Chandler's house. He could still be there, but we have to warn McNamara, and I don't know where she is or if she'll listen to us or—”

“I'll handle McNamara,” Heather said. “It's not that hard. She's a sheep.”

“You're probably safer where you are, at Martha's, since people won't connect you to her right away.”

“Unless someone saw her help us. Dead Zone got any visions about that?”

Veronica was quiet for a moment. “I... He's not seeing anything right now. It's just... darkness.”

“That... that's even creepier for some reason.”

“Yeah, I know.”

* * *

_“You don't remember me, do you?”_

_JD looked up at the man in front of him and shook his head. Was he supposed to? Or was this one of those stranger danger things they'd talked about in school? He didn't know. Sometimes he thought he'd be willing to let some creep take him away, just so long as he never had to go home to his dad again._

_“You will probably forget again, but I'm Taylor. Your mother's cousin.”_

_JD snorted. That was a little hard to believe. “My mother didn't have any family.”_

_“That's a lie she convinced herself of when she broke free from us, but it's not true,” Taylor said, sitting down next to him. “No orders not to talk this time?”_

_JD swallowed. His dad ordering him not to talk in school had gotten him in trouble, and too many people his dad didn't want around came and asked questions. Bud could send them all way, but he got annoyed by it so he started making more specific rules about what JD could or couldn't do when he was at school._

_He got less attention from the adults this way, though the kids still thought he was weird._

_“How'd you know about... that?” JD asked. He wasn't allowed to talk about the orders, but sometimes he could talk around things. He tried, at least. He'd tried to explain it to a teacher once who seemed really to care, but that was a lie and Bud had just laughed and told him he deserved what he got for that one._

_He shuddered._

_“Don't push your limits. You know that only ends up hurting,” Taylor said. “We're still working on how to get around this whole command thing, but we'll get you there eventually.”_

_“Why do you care?”_

_“Because your mom and I were close before she met Micheal and everything went wrong,” Taylor said. “And because no one should have to suffer like you are.”_

_JD frowned. “Someone said that before, but he wasn't—he just wanted to use what—use the—to twist what Bud did.”_

_Taylor shook his head. “It never gets easier, hearing just how terrible people can be. Sometimes I wonder why there's any potential for greatness in any of us since so many of us are monsters. There's a part of me that wants you to tell me about him, so I can track him down and make sure he doesn't ever see the light of day again.”_

_“You'd kill him?”_

_“If what I'm reading between your lines is true... I'd be damned tempted. I don't know if I could stop myself. It does seem to be the easiest—and most complicated—answer to Bud Dean.”_

_“You want to kill my dad?”_

_Taylor looked at him. “You sound like you want that.”_

_JD swallowed. “He... I hate being... like this... all the time. I can't do anything. Some kids complain about their parents not letting them do stuff, but he's ten times worse than them. I can't do anything unless he lets me. And if he's mad or drunk or... he'll make me... he tells me... he makes me hurt myself. I don't want to, but if he says it... I do it...”_

_Taylor balled up a fist and looked away from JD, taking several deep breaths. “I can't get close to him. Every time I have, it's gone very badly.”_

_“It has?” JD shook his head. “You're lying. If he saw you and he didn't want you there, he'd just tell you to kill yourself.”_

_Taylor snorted. “You think he hasn't?”_

_“Then... but... you're still alive.”_

_“I'm pretty damned hard to kill in the first place,” Taylor said with a rueful smile. “And my soulmate's a healer, so...”_

_“Your what?”_

_“Soulmate. Life partner. Bane of my existence,” Taylor answered, laughing. “Lord, I can almost feel the smack from here, and I deserve it, but if you can't tease your soulmate, what's the point, right?”_

_JD studied him. “But if you can't die—”_

_“Kid, I can die. Believe me, I've come very close over the years. What I do isn't always safe, but I like to think it's worth it, putting those animals back behind bars where they should be,” Taylor said. “I said it's hard to do. I didn't say impossible.”_

_“I don't understand.”_

_“I've been trying to tell you what you need to know, but he always demands to know what your day was like, you have to tell him you saw me, and he makes you forget everything I've told you. So we go around in these same circles a lot, though sometimes it doesn't take half as long for you to trust me.”_

_“Probably desperate,” JD said, since he was more often than not._

_“Probably.” Taylor grimaced. “Look, I'm afraid if I tell you more than what I have, he'll just use it to hurt you more.”_

_“You mean... whatever makes you hard to kill... I've got that, too?”_

_“Pretty sure you do, kid. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry.”_

_JD felt a little sick. “Is it always going to be like this? Always... stuck with him?”_

_“No.”_

_“You're sure of it?”_

_Taylor grimaced. “My grandfather used to always say that anything was possible. He would know. He saw possibilities. Mostly what could happen in the future, but not always. So... there's a world where you're free of him. Maybe a world where you never gave him that ability in the first place.”_

_“I did that? Why would I do that?”_

_“You scare yourself, so you created someone to keep you from going too far. Only... you didn't realize what you were doing, giving him that kind of power. With a different sort of man, maybe it would have been the right choice, at least until you were old enough to control what you can do, but you chose Bud and it damned you.”_

_“I don't—I didn't pick him. I wouldn't.”_

_“You didn't have a lot of choice. You were only around Bud or your mom, and not only was her ability already active, but she was doing her best to bury it. You had to choose Bud.”_

_“No.”_

_“It's the only thing I can figure,” Taylor said. “You were born active. You could and probably did activate all sorts of people in that hospital—maybe everyone you came in contact with when you were that small—and you knew, even if you knew nothing else, that it had to stop. So you gave power over to someone else, someone who dominated you and kept you from doing much of anything, isolated you from others... You saved them from your ability. Not his.”_

_JD gagged. “No.”_

_“I shouldn't have told you. You didn't—you need to know, but it only ever hurts, knowing that truth.”_

_“He's a monster. I made a monster.”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Go away. I hate you. Don't ever come back. I don't want to see you. I don't want to know any more. Even if it's true—you're have to be lying, but you have to—no. Go away. Just leave me alone. Please. Just leave me alone.”_

_“I can't just—”_

_“Go.”_

_“No. I'm not abandoning you to him. I know there's an answer, and not just because Grandfather says there's hundreds. You will get free of him someday, and I will do everything I can to help you. I have to.”_

_“Why?” JD demanded, getting to his feet. “You're not—you're afraid of me. You think I'm just as bad as this thing I supposedly created and—”_

_“I think you were as damaged by what happened to your mother as she was. She was afraid, and you picked up on that fear as all babies do. I could feel it when I first saw you—this overwhelming sense of fear. You were desperate then, and so was your father when things went so very wrong... which just made it all worse.”_

_JD had meant to run, but he wasn't moving. He was shaking and about to cry. “I don't understand.”_

_“I know,” Taylor said, pulling him close into a tight, fierce hug. “I wish I could make it simpler for you, but what I've told you is a risk right now, and I shouldn't have. I just... I couldn't leave you alone with him.”_

_“Then take me with you.”_

_“We tried that. You defying his order put you in a coma. That's not happening again.”_

_“You think I did something bad when I was in that coma, don't you?”_

_Taylor sighed. “No. I know you did.”_

* * *

“That really fucking hurts.” JD rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. “Where am I?”

“Still in my bedroom.”

He looked over at Veronica. She tried to be brave as he faced her, but she was too close to panic, and she could feel herself shaking. She wanted to be relieved because he was awake, but she wasn't. She watched him as he he forced himself up and moved a bit toward her. Then he stopped, and she thought maybe he was going to puke.

“What happened?”

“Don't you remember?” Veronica asked with a frown, staring at him. “You and I were... um... kissing and—”

“Kissing is good,” he said, lying back down. “I liked that part. That was good. This... not good.”

“I thought they'd stopped. The visions. All I could see was... darkness.”

He rolled onto his side. “I don't know what that means, so don't bother asking me.”

She wasn't so sure she believed that. She crawled across the bed to him, looking down into his eyes. “You knew more than you were saying before with your dad. I think he may be the reason we saw Heather die and that he's after the other Heathers, too. Maybe me. Maybe Martha. I wanted to check, but you... you weren't seeing anything.”

“I am so not going to complain about that,” JD muttered. “I don't want to see anything else again. Ever.”

“I don't want my friends dying,” Veronica said. “I don't—they can't die, okay? We have to do something. Now. I don't even know—Heather could already be dead, and the others—”

“It changes. That means... it can't be set. It didn't necessarily happen,” he said. “And if my head will stop throbbing, maybe I won't puke and I can do something, but right now, I swear I'm going to have an Exorcist moment all over your room if I even so much as blink.”

She sighed. “I thought about calling the police and sending them over there—”

“They love false alarms. That's fun.”

She frowned at him. “You don't know that—what is wrong with you? They could die, and you're just... you're so wrapped up in your own misery and you're making jokes about it and—”

“My father made me tell them it was a prank call when I tried to get the ambulance to come after I'd stabbed myself that time I told you about,” JD said. “It was a great night. And yes, I'm fucking self-absorbed at the moment. I can't think with this ache and the nausea, so screw it.”

“I'm sorry. I'm just worried and I—”

“I am being a dick, and I know it,” he said, reaching for her hand. “It's... I don't... My dad... he's a monster. I know that... I've never been able to stop him. I don't... there may not be any way to save your friends, and I don't want to say that. I don't want to scare you... I'm sorry. I don't know what to do.”

“I think he may be looking for you.”

“Oh. Well, that's an option, then,” JD said, pushing himself back up again. “Help me to the door. We can deal with that.”

“What?”

“We'll give him what he wants.”

“Don't be stupid. We're not doing that.”

“You want your friends to die?”

She flinched. “Of course not.”

“Then we give him me.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heathers are found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I was sort of planning on this, but... plans are so tricky and easy to doubt.

* * *

_“If you can't take me away from him and can't kill him, why the hell do you bother coming back?” JD asked, not looking at his mother's cousin. He was angry, had been for a while now, and he thought he hated this guy, but he didn't remember him, so he didn't know. He just knew today he was pissed off and sore and angry at everything and everyone._

_The bullies had held him down and beat the crap out of him for no reason at all—he knew he hadn't said anything to piss them off, he couldn't with his father's orders, and this wasn't about lunch money anymore._

_He swore they'd been ready to kill him, and he didn't know why._

_“Because I care about you and care what happens to you.”_

_“Right. Sure. And I believe that one because... why? Should I be running for the principal and saying you tried to do the bad touch on me, stranger danger?”_

_“You could waste both our times and cause yourself a lot of pain if you really want to,” the man said. JD looked over at him. “You did once—you didn't believe me. You were mad at me for telling you hard truths, and you reported me. The school looked into it, into your home life, and your 'father' was so angry he made you brand your own side.”_

_JD gagged. Fuck. This guy knew too much. He didn't even remember how he'd gotten that besides his father's insidious voice inside his head saying that he'd brought this on himself so he would punish himself and the pain as it burned into his skin but he couldn't make himself pull it away. He'd passed out before that happened._

_“Then... I don't understand. Why not just kill you?”_

_“I have one advantage over Bud Dean. I can find you wherever you are. He can't do that with me. He can hire detectives, but he's never been able to find me or my family, so they're safe. You've even met some of them as we tried to get around him. So far, it hasn't worked. It seems the more orders you get, the worse you go down when you try and defy them, even if that defiance is us basically kidnapping you. Even my wife's healing wasn't enough to bring you around that one time. Scared the hell out of me. I thought I'd lose her, too.”_

_“Why are you smiling when you say that?”_

_Taylor grimaced. “Admittedly, that's a bit of a... bittersweet memory for me. I was scared out of my mind, but I also found out I was going to be a father. It... never happened before for us, and it was kind of a big thing. She says we owe you.”_

_“Why?”_

_“She thinks exposure to what you can do amplified what she could do enough to let her keep the baby this time around. Her body tended to see the baby as... something to heal itself of and purge before that time.”_

_JD frowned. “I thought I just... started people. I don't... I can't make them more powerful, can I?”_

_Taylor looked away. “No. You can't.”_

_“That sounds a lot like a lie.”_

_“You have to let it be a lie,” Taylor said, and JD glared at him. He sighed. “It... There's two very good reasons why you have to let that stay a lie. Bud can't know about that part of it. He's already refusing to let you go because he thinks you can activate more than one power in him, but if he thinks you can make the one he has stronger, he'll keep trying to force it.”_

_“Can he? Can he actually order me to give him abilities or other people abilities?”_

_“No. For some reason, that seems to be the only thing he can't order you to do.”_

_“Why not?”_

_“You created him to keep your ability under control. To make it damned near impossible to use. Whatever he does when he gives you a command apparently offsets what your mind needs to use yours. I asked one of my other cousins who's better at science to explain that one to me, and that's what I got in as close to English as she ever speaks. She said she'd need to see your brain functions and his while he gives you orders to know more, but your father is not interested in experimentation—not in that sense.”_

_“He experiments on me?”_

_“Every day. You live under these orders, unable to defy them. He takes risks in erasing parts of your memory. You only know you have any sort of ability on a conscious level when you and I talk—or when he tries to make you use it, but when he does, he forces you to forget that, too. Any progress you might have made in understanding it or controlling it is gone.”_

_“Then there really is no hope of ever getting away from him.”_

_“No. There's still a way.”_

* * *

“Come on, Heather, we have to go. Now.”

Heather didn't know what to think of this. Duke had shown up at her door with Martha Dumptruck, of all people, and while Heather kind of remembered they were once friends, years and years ago, she didn't understand. Chandler would never have allowed that, not in a million years, and Duke never defied Chandler. No one did.

Well, Veronica tried, but she didn't, not really.

“What do you mean, we have to go? I'm not going anywhere. I have a bunch of homework to catch up on or I'm off the cheerleading team. I already lost out on captain, and I can't let them kick me off the team. It's just... I can't.” Heather's whole identity outside of being a Heather was the team, and if she wasn't a cheerleader, she didn't know what she was.

“You're supposed to be a sheep. You follow so blindly. Why is this even difficult?” Duke demanded, and Heather stared at her, hurt.

“She's worried and scared and it comes out mean in her,” Martha said. “Look, some of what we'd need to explain, you won't believe, at least... not until you see more of things, and... Well, we can't afford to wait. If we're right about what's going on, there's someone out there who wants all of you Heathers dead. Maybe Veronica, too, but we don't know if this guy knows about her. He already went after Heather Chandler.”

“What? Heather's... she's not. She can't be dead.” Heather couldn't believe that. Chandler was so strong, so full of life. How could she be dead? She just... couldn't.

“We don't know yet, but we know we need to go. Come on, Heather. It's not safe now. If he went after Chandler first, he doesn't know which one he really wants, but that's not going to save any of us. We need to leave, right now, before he gets here.”

“He who? How do you even know that there's some guy after any of us? That doesn't make sense.”

“I find I'm very curious about this as well,” a man said, stepping into the room with them. He turned to wave at her mother. “Go. Take a Valium or something. Out of my sight.”

Heather stared as her mom just walked away. She hadn't said anything about that guy or how rude he was or what he was doing in their house.

“Uh, how did you get in here? Who are you?”

“Fuck,” Duke said, looking up at him. “You're him. You're... his dad.”

“I see Jason's been telling tales on me,” the man said, his voice so cold he gave Heather chills. “Where is my son?”

“We don't know,” Duke said, backing away from him. “We really don't. He's not with us. You don't have to do anything to us.”

“I don't? I think that's a little untrue, don't you? After all, you know about Jason, and if he's talked, that means you all know too much.”

“I don't,” Heather objected. “I don't even know—wait, this is about that kid in the trench coat that Veronica was flirting with? The one that passed out like a weirdo?”

“Flirting.”

“Heather, don't say anything else,” Duke told her. “Just... don't.”

“Oh, you are going to tell me everything,” the man said. “And after you do, I will decide what I'm going to do with you.”

* * *

“No,” Veronica said, even as she parked the car. “If he's here, you are not giving yourself to him.”

“Are we really going to argue about this again?” JD asked, aware she wanted to smack him, but that seemed fair enough seeing as he didn't want to have this conversation. This was the simplest solution. It had to be done. Her friends would die if his father didn't get him back, and if JD knew his dad, they weren't the only ones. Others were probably already dead.

“I mean it,” she said. “Giving him you doesn't—it's not right. It—”

“He won't kill me,” JD said. For whatever reason, something he still didn't understand because his father seemed to hate him, his father wanted him alive. “I'll be fine. You can save your friends, and that's what matters, right?”

Veronica looked at him. “How can you say that?”

“What, because we're soulmates? I thought neither of us believed in that.”

She shook her head. “You know that's not true, and... how can you ask me to... sacrifice you like that? It's not right. I can't. You're... you're a person. You're... you and I have something, even if it isn't an eternal bond like in the books and movies.”

“You know those are all lies, right?” JD said, reaching for the door handle. He opened it and got out. “Are you coming, or what? His car isn't even here. There's a good chance he's been and gone if he was even here at all.”

Veronica glared at him. “This conversation is not done.”

He gave her a thin smile and turned toward the house. It was dark, and night was setting in, making it look a little uninviting as he approached it, but whatever. He knew he had to get inside, so he would. He didn't care what he had to do to get in, either.

Veronica ran up next to him. “Don't break anything. I know where the spare key is if we need it.”

“Chandler trusts you with that knowledge?”

Veronica shrugged. “She drinks too much sometimes. Someone has to get her in the door.”

He nodded, testing the handle. It swung open, and they went in, Veronica calling out to her friend as she walked into the foyer. He recognized this place from what he'd seen in the images, all the ways Heather died around her house.

“She might be in her room. That was where... I'm going to check upstairs,” Veronica said, turning toward them. She took them two at a time, rushing up, and he frowned as he looked around again.

He walked back toward the kitchen, his stomach twisting up as he did. He stepped inside and looked around the corner. Damn.

“Veronica!”

He continued across the room to the girl on the floor. The lady in red had blue lips from whatever she'd drank, the same stuff that was splattered across the floor with the shattered glass. He swallowed and reached to check her pulse.

Holy fuck. She was still alive.

His mind spun with more images, making him sick as it showed him various possibilities.

_She died in the ambulance._

_She died in the hospital._

_She stayed in a coma for years._

_She lived but was never the same again._

“Heather?” Veronica asked, coming over next to him. She looked at him in fear. “We have to do something. We can't just... she's... she's still alive.”

“For now,” JD whispered, having seen that change too many times in the last thirty seconds.

_“What the fuck are you doing?” JD demanded as they put the handcuffs on his hands. “We found her like that. She was already sick when we got there. It had nothing to do with us. I didn't kill her.”_

_“No one as popular as Heather Chandler drinks drain cleaner by accident. You wanted revenge for this afternoon. Your prints are on the glass. You were found with the body. You're going away for the rest of your life.”_

JD shuddered, and Veronica touched his back. He tried to calm down, not understanding why they'd assume he did it—okay, he _had_ seen visions where he had done it, lied about what was in the cup and let Heather drink it, but that hadn't happened this time. He couldn't really get arrested for this, could he?

He looked down at Heather, suddenly aware that he could make sure that didn't happen. He knew what to do. It wouldn't take much at all.

He reached out and put his hand on Heather's forehead, closing his eyes and cursing himself as he did, even if he knew it would save her life.

* * *

“Sit,” the man ordered, and Martha found herself obeying, not the only one who did. Both Heathers also sat, staring at him in fear. He wasn't that scary looking, not in person. He just seemed like a normal man in a track suit, like maybe if he smiled he might actually be pleasant. Only his voice was so stern and the way they couldn't fight doing what he said, that was absolutely terrifying.

“Now, we are going to have a very nice little chat,” he said, giving them a smile, and Martha took it back. His smiles were just creepy. “I want to know what you know about my son.”

“We told you. We don't know anything,” McNamara said. “I mean... I don't. He's in my American History class. Our teacher introduced us to him, he didn't say anything, and that was it.”

He studied her. “And yet you said someone called Veronica flirted with him. When was this?”

“It didn't happen,” Heather said, sounding braver than she should have been. “Heather's got it wrong. It... The jocks took it that way and beat him up. It had nothing to do with us.”

Martha saw McNamara frowning at Heather, but she hoped that the man wouldn't notice. They couldn't really put this all on Veronica. This guy would go hurt her and his son, and it wasn't like Veronica had asked to be this kid's soulmate. Martha had always thought it would be a good thing before, but now she wasn't so sure.

“Nothing?” the man shook his head. “I don't believe that. I was told that a Heather got him away from where the jocks were beating on him.”

“Maybe they lied,” Heather said.

“Maybe you're lying,” he countered. “This Veronica is your friend, is she? Tell me the truth. All of it. Now.”

Heather choked, but it came out of her. “Veronica was flirting with the guy, and he touched her and then... collapsed. Chandler thought he was a sicko perv or something, so she ordered Ram and Kurt to take him away. Veronica ran after them to stop them. I followed them a bit later.”

“And?”

“Martha and I helped them get away and to Martha's house,” Heather said, sounding miserable, but she didn't stop telling him everything. “We grew up reading those soulmate novels and doing research on it, and I was sure I'd seen it happen—he got an ability when he touched her, and she got one, too. And so we tried to figure it out.”

“He found his soulmate?”

Heather nodded. “Well... we think so. Veronica touched him, and she could see what he was seeing.”

“What was he seeing?” 

“Visions. Possibilities. The future.”

“You're lying to me again. That's not what Jason does. Jason has other gifts. He always has.”

Heather stared at him. “No. I told you. That's what she saw when she touched him. She only saw it touching him. I thought... I assumed she was a sponge, you know? She could pick up what he did but she doesn't have an ability of her own, just a mimickry.”

He looked over at Martha. “What do you think? Tell me.”

“I... I don't know. It seemed like a good enough explanation for it, since he'd go unconscious when he was seeing stuff and if she touched him then she did but he'd wake up. It was weird, and we couldn't explain it.”

“No, you're not explaining it at all,” the man said, angry. “I want to know how Jason was able to defy me. He knew he was supposed to come right home. He can't disobey me. None of you can. Why did he not come back when he was supposed to?”

“He tried,” Martha said. “He did try. We... we thought he was just being a jerk, so Heather blocked the door and... he collapsed again.”

“So he is unconscious,” the man said. “Is he at your house? Answer me.”

“No. Veronica took him to her house after that.”

“Why?”

Heather glared at him. “Like we know what's going on in her head. Maybe she did actually want to try the romance novel cliché on him without an audience. Who the fuck knows but her?”

He turned back to Heather. “What do you mean? Tell me. Now.”

“Um... consummating their bond? We kind of joked about them getting control of what they could do if that happened, but since he was kind of unconscious, it didn't seem... right. And Veronica's probably still a virgin and all, so I doubt she went through with it, but I tend to deflect when I'm upset and you're scaring the hell out of us. I don't really think she slept with him. Only... we did say maybe if she kept practicing touching him she'd get a hold on what she was doing and be able to control it. Or...”

“Or?”

“Or he wasn't constantly seeing the other stuff. Like... it stopped. We didn't know why.”

He studied them. “What did he see?”

“We don't know,” Martha said, trying to be brave even though she was terrified of this guy. She didn't like how he kept ordering them about, and she couldn't help remembering Hannah's abusive boyfriend that could do that. He was so evil to her and her son. “We didn't see them.”

“Someone told you about them. What did they say?”

“That it was like a horror movie. People died. Over and over.”

He smiled, seeming to like that. Martha grimaced. This guy was a real creep. How could he have a power? No one could be someone that evil's soulmate, could they?

“Where is Veronica now?”

“We don't know,” McNamara said. “Are you going to hurt us?”

He looked at her, dismissed her and turned back to Heather. “Where is your friend? Don't lie.”

“She was at her house last we knew. She... her boyfriend was out cold after he saw Chandler die, and she was freaked out but she wouldn't leave him, so... she's probably still there. We don't know. That's the truth.”

“And this is everything you know?”

“Yes,” the three of them answered at the same time.

“Well, then. I suppose I have no more use for any of you.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bud threatens the girls with death... and things get a little complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... um... I guess this went there? And it was so easy to figure out Chandler, Martha, and McNamara, but Duke? She was not easy to know.

* * *

_“Five years. You've seriously been coming here and talking to me about this shit for five years and you still haven't figured out a way to get me away from him?”_

_“It's complicated. I wish it were simple, but all the simple ways we tried didn't work. We went for the more complex ones. They still haven't worked, but I am an eternal optimist, it would seem.”_

_JD shook his head. He supposed this jerk must be. He didn't know why the guy would still bother, not after this long, not after all this failure. He wouldn't be here now, not if it was him, but then his mom's cousin was obviously a bit... off, if the guy even was his mom's cousin. JD wasn't sure he believed that._

_“I told you there was still hope, and there is. I know you think that's hard to believe, but it still exists.”_

_“Yeah, well, you can hope. You get to leave.”_

_“Someday you will be free of him.”_

_“You mean when I'm dead?” That was about the only way JD saw it happening. He knew he was going to die before he had any freedom from his dad. He couldn't see any way out of this life. For whatever reason, his dad still wanted him alive, wanted him around. JD couldn't tell why, since his dad just seemed to hate him, but then he also seemed to like having a slave. He liked the power. He liked making JD do whatever he wanted._

_“No. I think it will be before then,” Taylor said. “Just the way that Grandfather keeps telling me that I'm impatient. I know he's seen something, but he never tells. Not his place to set our destiny, he says. I think you'd find him infuriating, actually. We all kind of do.”_

_“Grandfather?”_

_“Your great-grandfather. He's still alive and kicking. I think you'll get a chance to meet him.”_

_“I doubt it.”_

_“There's still hope. I know you'll probably forget that, but it exists.”_

* * *

“You can't kill us,” Heather said, hoping she could sound like she actually believed it, though she had some pretty obvious doubts. He was bigger than them, and he had a power straight out of a horror movie. “Not all three of us.”

Mr. Dean looked at them, another cruel smile on his face. He didn't seem like he was the least bit bothered by the idea of killing them. That made Heather sick. She didn't understand how he could be so calm about that.

Even joking, that would be hard to take back or forget, and there were three of them. They'd know. They'd remember.

And Heather remembered even more than that. McNamara hadn't been home alone when she and Martha got here. Someone else had opened the door, and not just for them.

“Heather's mom knows you're here. She saw you. She knows.”

Heather felt stupid for saying it. She couldn't not say it, but she also knew that McNamara's mom being aware of this guy's visit wasn't going to stop anything. He would still kill them all if he wanted, maybe even Mrs. McNamara. Maybe he'd make it look like a giant accident and burn the house or something. She didn't know. She did think they were all probably going to die.

She really didn't want to do that thing with the whole _I'm too young to die_ because they were all young and it wouldn't stop this guy. If he'd actually decided to kill them, nothing was going to keep him from doing it. He could even order them to kill each other.

And she was afraid they would.

She didn't want to believe that any of them could do something so against their nature, but then, were any of them really that good of friends? She'd betrayed Martha to become popular, and she didn't ever stop what Chandler did to McNamara, and who besides Veronica would call them friends?

Maybe they'd be glad to hurt each other, full of buried resentments.

“You amuse me,” he said, and she felt her stomach twist. “You are aware of what I can do, and you think that woman can stop me? There are a thousand ways that I can deal with her, though she could hardly stop me now. I wasn't even specific about the amount of Valium she should take, so who knows? She could already be gone.”

“No,” McNamara said, her voice full of horror. “She's not—you didn't—my mom—”

“Already dead? Very likely from her drugs and the alcohol she drank. Those toxins rattling around in her body... She could be gone. She didn't suffer, which is more than most.”

“You can't do that. It can't... You can't...”

He gave her a sick smile. “I think I already have.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

The smirk disappeared from Mr. Dean's face. “You're dead.”

Heather Chandler's lips curved into a cruel smirk. “You only wish.”

* * *

“You see, I'm definitely alive. I'm more than alive,” Heather went on, a part of her reveling in this new side of her existence. The rest of her was still scared as shitless as she had been when she first realized what was happening. The relief of it was undeniable.

The pain and sheer weirdness of it was just as strong. She'd never felt anything like it before in her life. She'd been so cold, so sick, and she'd known—she'd been completely certain—that she was dying. The way that felt, that conviction and fear and overwhelming despair. She'd never been like that before. She was Heather Chandler.

She was worshiped. She was powerful, strong. She had money and influence. She was beautiful. She had never had to want for anything or worry about it. She thought she had everything.

And then there was a man, standing in her kitchen, telling her what to do, and even though she didn't want to touch that puke, she'd picked up the drain cleaner and downed it.

_As soon as he spoke, Heather felt like she had no mind of her own. She answered every question he asked, even ones she shouldn't know the answers to, giving him every bit of information she had, even though it was very little and none of it should have been any use to him. She didn't know much of anything about that trench coat kid, but she told him everything she did know about Jesse James and his apparent mental psychosis, that both Veronica and later Heather had run off after him._

_He'd told her it was enough, so she told him to get the fuck out._

_Her mistake. He made her drink the drano._

_And she died._

Only she was alive. Still in a bit of pain, but on her feet—not in heels, she didn't trust herself enough and that pissed her off—but she was here. And she was angry as hell.

Track suit stared at her. “This isn't possible.”

“Oh, it is. You picked the wrong girl. Or the wrong poison.” Heather made a show of looking at her nails. “Probably should say the wrong girl.”

“Well, he was chasing the wrong Heather,” Duke said. “And... well, he actually should have been chasing Veronica, but we're all Heathers and we were all supposed to die—”

“We are not dying.”

“He said my mom was going to die,” McNamara said in a panic.

“Relax,” Heather said. “I can deal with any drugs or whatever she might have taken.”

“Um, Heather—”

“Where the hell is he?” Dean demanded. “Where is that little shit?”

“We're the only ones here besides Heather's mom,” Duke said. “You know that, don't you? Just how delusional _are_ you? I mean, I guess Chandler showing up when you thought you'd killed her would surprise you, but why would someone else show up now?”

“To admire his handiwork, of course. He is my son, after all, and I know him well. I also know what he can do. Jason activated you, didn't he? That's why you're alive. He gave you some kind of healing or something that allowed you to live,” Dean said, and all the eyes went to Heather, wide and disbelieving. “He did, didn't he? Answer me.”

“Actually, it's the ability to manipulate toxins of any kind,” Heather said, still a bit overwhelmed and yet pleased to know what she could do. “With a side dose of immunity to them, which made your little Drano experiment a complete failure.”

“You can't do that,” Martha said. “You... it takes a soulmate to activate a power.”

Dean laughed. “You believe that bullshit, do you? Trust me, it's lies. Oh, I think for normal people it might take that, but Jason's not normal. Now tell me where the hell he is.”

“We've already told you we don't know,” Duke said. “Go to hell.”

“You know,” Dean said, facing Heather. “You know where he is. You will tell me. There are many other ways for you to die. Tell me.”

Heather grimaced. “He was supposed to be right behind me.”

“Ah, your creator proves to be a coward. I am not surprised. Not at all.” Dean shook his head. “A shame, but then I suppose dealing with the rest of you will be enough. I can find him and his little girlfriend later. Now all that remains is selecting the right form of death. Poison is only off the table for one of you, after all, so it is still an option, though taking you all out at the same time might be more cost effective.”

“And what are you going to do when people start wondering why so many teenagers in Sherwood are dead?”

“Laugh, I suppose.”

“Now me, I think I'd roast marshmallows while it all burned, but then again, that's just me.”

Dean smiled. “Hello, Jason. Good of you to show yourself at last.”

“Oh, trust me, Dad. This is the last thing you want.”

* * *

“We should be in there. Now. Helping.”

JD gave his father's car another glance, shaking his head. He knew he'd said he'd give himself over to his father, but this had to be handled right. If he went in too soon and fell under a command, they were all fucked and he knew it.

“Give Chandler a few minutes to pull off her show.”

Veronica shook her head. “They're my friends. I can't abandon them to him.”

“You're not,” JD told her. “I just... I need a few minutes. Let her buy me some time.”

Veronica turned to him, her eyes searching his face. She put a hand on his cheek. “I thought we discussed this. No giving you to him. No... five minutes to prepare yourself to go back to a life as his slave. You can't do that. I—I'm still not sure what you did for Heather when you touched her, but she's alive. And I know it's because of you somehow. He can't have that. He just... can't.”

“I see. You want me for my mystical powers.”

He said it lightly, teasing and mocking, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't hurt. All anyone wanted him for was this curse he had, and she didn't even know what it was. He hadn't told her. Couldn't. He didn't even understand all of it himself, but the few things that had come to him in future possibilities as well as some things filtering in from memories he didn't know he had gave him enough to help Chandler.

He already regretted it, even if she was alive. It ate at him, and he knew it shouldn't. She'd have died if he hadn't. Slowly, but she would have. What he'd done wasn't... wrong. Not technically.

It still made him sick, and he was not sure he could face that girl again. And Veronica, if she knew, if she understood...

“I don't care about your mystical powers,” Veronica said, and he gave her a look. She sighed. “Okay, I care that your father doesn't get them for whatever sick reason he might think to use them, but I don't—I'd want to know you, really know you, without them. I'd have liked to do those normal things, you know? Date. Play mini golf. Bake brownies. Go camping. Play poker. Have chili fries. Dance on prom night. All of that.”

“I think you'd have a lousy poker face, and I can't dance,” he said. “Also... allergic to chocolate.”

“You're kidding.”

“No. My dad used to make me eat it when he wanted a good laugh.”

She winced. “Damn, that's fucked up.”

“Yeah, well, he is.”

“Mini golf, then,” she said. “We can both lose to the windmill. Or... camping. We could try camping.”

“Camping as in sleeping in the great outdoors or camping as in sneaking away to have sex?”

“I don't know. The first. Maybe both.”

He managed a slight smile, even if he knew that future was not going to be theirs, not at all. “I think Heather's bought us as much time as she's going to.”

“We are still not giving him you. We can't let him have any of them, even if they don't have abilities.”

“Oh, Chandler's got one.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “Used to be only her words were poison. Now... not so much.”

Veronica stared at him. “You're joking. Tell me you're joking. How is that even—Chandler did not met her soulmate tonight. That would make him... your dad. That's just all sorts of fucked up and wrong. No. Just _no.”_

He almost laughed. The idea of that was just as sickening to him as it was to her, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her what he'd done. He owed her it, especially if he was her soulmate, though he doubted it. His ability could make anyone look like one, and he'd sure as hell been attracted to her when he first saw her.

He'd shut out what he could do, somehow buried the knowledge of what his ability really was—the future possibilities were an accent, a side talent that could shape what his main one did—so he hadn't known he could do what he did, but he did now.

And that knowledge... he had a feeling he knew what this all meant now.

He shook it off. He had other things to worry about with the bought time, and she'd distracted him from actually doing any of it. He started inside and stopped just inside the door. Veronica came up next to him, touching his arm.

“JD?”

“Um... If I go zombie, wake me up, okay? I... I think I need to take a little look into the future.”

“On purpose?”

He nodded. “On purpose.”

He closed his eyes, reaching out to get a sense of what he needed to know, and he shuddered through it even though they were never full fledged visions of the future. He swallowed, forcing himself forward again, Veronica's hand seeking out his and holding on with some obvious distress.

He heard his father call him a coward, but he didn't care about that. This wasn't about that. He wasn't even that scared, though he should be. He'd gone somewhat numb, unlike Veronica.

He couldn't reassure her, not now. He couldn't afford to let Bud see him before he was ready, before he could act. He needed to be behind the girls, close enough to reach him if he had to, but not so close he'd order JD to stop or stay where he was.

“And what are you going to do when people start wondering why so many teenagers in Sherwood are dead?” 

“Laugh, I suppose.”

That sounded like his asshole of a father. He could see it. JD knew what he'd do, though, if he could watch Westerburg and all the other asshole schools burn to the ground. “Now me, I think I'd roast marshmallows while it all burned, but then again, that's just me.”

Bud smiled. “Hello, Jason. Good of you to show yourself at last.”

“Oh, trust me, Dad. This is the last thing you want,” JD told him. “Or did you really think I'd stop with one Heather? Martha's not even a Heather, but her nickname Dumptruck might be more fitting than people think because I bet she hits like one. She's got strength she doesn't know she has.”

“And you think that can stop me? You know I can just order her not to move.”

“I don't have strength,” Martha protested. “I'm fat, not strong—”

“Mass manipulation. You'd pack one hell of a punch,” JD said, keeping his eyes on his father. “And she's not the only one. You know that.”

“Jason, while I appreciate the theatricality of the situation, you can't do anything like that. I won't let you. I have the only real power here, because you have always folded under mine. You will not give anyone here an ability. Not that they'd do any good. They will all die here. All of your... friends.”

“They're not my friends.”

Veronica put her hand on JD's back. She didn't say anything, though, and he was glad for that. His father could not know about her. Ever.

“The girlfriend will be the first to die. I think I'll make you kill her. That seems fitting, doesn't it?”

“The cheerleader there... she's got light. The kind of light you can't imagine. Bright, dazzling... if she used it for a routine, she'd win any competition.”

“Amusing anecdotes, but hardly a threat,” Bud said. “Not that any of them matter.”

“Oh, the other one does. I saved the best for last. See, she can manipulate sound waves. And you know what? You can't obey an order you can't hear.”

Duke's eyes went wide, though that could have been because he reached out and touched her, and after that, everything went still. Not that things weren't moving, that clock wasn't still ticking, and the bird wasn't chirping. People _were_ talking, panic and wonder going through the group as they tried to make sense of it, but no sound came out.

He gave his father a thin smile, shoving the others toward the door, telling them to run even if they couldn't hear him. That didn't matter. They were leaving, and there wasn't a damned thing his father could do to stop them.

Or at least... he should believe that. For now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanations are demanded, but they're hard to get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JD really doesn't like explaining things. That does make things... difficult.

* * *

_“One of the other cousins thinks he knows a way to help you.”_

_JD looked up at the man who'd spoken, frowning. “Do I know you?”_

_“Yes. I'm Taylor. Your mother was my cousin. We've actually met before, but the man you know as your father has made you forget every time I've tried to help you. That's actually what I was about to talk to you about. You never remember me when I find you again, and that means that even though you pass the time limit where his command should have worn off, your memories are still gone. That's what Meryl had a thought about.”_

_“Meryl?”_

_“If you're lucky you won't meet this one, but you should probably thank him if this ever works.”_

_“Why would I do that?”_

_“Because Meryl's theory is that you are told to forget forever, but as you have already proven, there are loopholes within the semantics of what your father tells you to do. Like when you write in the dirt because he tells you no talking. You can find ways around a lot of this, and you will need them.”_

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“There's a running bet on how we get you free of him, if you must know,” Taylor said, and JD frowned at him. “I know. Not appropriate. We're all a little warped, but mostly I find it a reminder of my failure to be able to be any real help to you.”_

_“So why would they—”_

_“It's also a way of trying to find that way of helping you that we all want,” Taylor said. “All of us, all so 'gifted,' and we're all still pawns to a man like Bud Dean. Any attempt to eliminate him has gone very badly—”_

_“You tried to kill my dad?”_

_“No. I would never,” Taylor said, and JD didn't know if he believed that. “I just—no attempt where we get close to him works. If he senses someone and commands them to stop, it's over. And since he started ordering you to defend him if anything did happen—”_

_“What? I want him gone. I'd be glad if he died. If he did, I'd dance on his grave.”_

_“Yes, but he's ordered you to sacrifice yourself for him. And while it seems like he shouldn't be able to make you do it, he has. That scar on your arm? You got in front of a bullet for him.”_

_“I'm going to be sick.”_

_“Anyway, Meryl's theory is that you can side step the forever command on your memories by redefining forever.”_

_JD rubbed his head. “I think I hate you and would rather not remember anything you've said. I don't even get it. You make no sense, and I want you to go.”_

_“I'm sure I confuse you, but think about it. Every command he gives you is still a bunch of words. He's taken to spelling things out more so that you are both more 'free' and less so. You can talk, but you can't talk about certain things. You can talk to certain people. You have to tell him all about your day, but you don't have to be specific about it unless he asks directly. That's the key. Use his own words against him. If he tells you to forget forever, decide that forever means something different to you. Forever means... until he's lost his hold on you. Something like that.”_

_“That's stupid and it will never work.”_

_“Maybe not, but isn't trying it better than doing nothing? Do you really want all your memories stripped away like that?”_

_“No.”_

_“I didn't think so, and really, you can't afford it. There's too much you need to know, and stopping him won't be simple even if you find a way to counter his abilities. That... and yours could spike in ways we can't predict if they're ever able to be free. You were afraid of that, so you created a... failsafe. It went too far, but the risk remains.”_

_“Why are you afraid of me?”_

_“I—I suppose it's only fair to tell you they're all afraid that in addition to what we already know you can do, you may have your father's ability running through you, and it's a ticking time bomb.”_

_“Being able to order people around? That's not—”_

_“I mean your biological father. Micheal was... gifted in a pretty terrible way. He... he ended up using his own ability to end his life rather than harm anyone else, but a lot of damage was done, and if you have that—”_

_“I get to kill myself, too? Why do you even come see me? Why not just kill me?”_

_“We don't know that you have anything like your father's gift, and you are not just someone to fear. You're family. Your mom didn't understand that we can work past fear toward understanding, and I still think if your father had come into his ability with a little less... intensity and a bit more willingness to listen to others, he might have survived it and mastered it. We all have to learn to use what we are. It's not like... I used to find my own ability completely overwhelming. I could sense everyone and everything around me, and it was too much. I wanted to put a bullet in my head rather than go on.”_

_“You didn't.”_

_“No, I didn't. I had help. My family—not just my soulmate, don't fall into the trap of thinking they're all you need—worked with me to improve my control and narrow my focus, to clear my head and allow myself some perfectly normal days where I don't look for anyone. It's there. I can call on it any time, but it's more a distant thought in the back of my head than a full fledged migraine.”_

_JD looked at him. “And you think... you think you can teach me that?”_

_“I've been trying, but Bud takes it from you.”_

_“So... you think I should make up a new definition of forever.”_

_“Maybe. I mean, Meryl's a dick, and I don't want him to be right about anything, but if it helps... then, yeah.”_

_JD managed a small smile. “I almost like you. How fucked up is that?”_

_Taylor laughed. “Well, I should, as the responsible adult here, tell you to watch your language, but aside from that... Yeah, I get it. Our relationship is far from normal, kid.”_

_“And there you go, throwing away any respect for you I might have had.”_

* * *

“Wait,” Heather said, glad that she could actually hear her own voice now. She hadn't liked that silence. She really didn't like Dead Zone's implication that she was behind that. She wasn't. She couldn't have done that.

She didn't have a soulmate. Didn't have an ability. She was completely normal—well, besides the whole need to purge after every meal. She was not a superhero. She was just... herself. She didn't have powers.

“Okay, what the hell is going on?” Heather demanded, turning toward the boy. He had all the answers, didn't he? “What even was that back there? What happened? Oh, and why the hell didn't you mention you have psychopath for a father? One who was going to kill all of us?”

“Heather,” Veronica began, looking at her boyfriend nervously. “I know you're upset—everyone's upset—and confused—but we—”

“Don't defend your boyfriend. He owes us an explanation—”

“We can't talk here,” Dead Zone said, his eyes going back to the house. “We have to get as far away from here as we can as fast as we can.”

Chandler snorted. “I don't think so, Jesse James. You owe us all a lot of explanations. I put the one you didn't give me off because Veronica was sure the other Heathers were going to die, but we've fixed that, and Duke isn't the only one who wants answers.”

“Did all of you miss what happened back there? Scary guy who wanted us dead can order us to do anything he wants us to do,” Martha said. “I think—as much as I'm afraid and I want answers—we should keep running.”

“I'm with Martha,” McNamara said. “We should keep running.”

“If he can really order us, then why didn't he? Why were able to run? We can—”

“Look, even if that was Duke's ability, she doesn't know how she did it—do you, Heather? No,” Veronica said, more forceful than Heather had ever seen her before. “We need to leave before he catches up to us. As soon as he gives one of those orders, we're all screwed, so let's go before he gets out here.”

Heather wanted to argue that, but then she thought about how helpless she'd been when he gave her orders, and she knew she couldn't keep fighting with them now. They had to go.

The answers would come later, when they were sure they were safe.

* * *

“Where even are we?” Chandler demanded, sounding really annoyed. Heather flinched, wishing that any of this made sense. She was scared and worried. Her mom could be dead. She didn't know what had happened back there, with that man or when they'd run from him. Everyone talked, but no one explained anything.

She wanted answers. Needed them.

“Yeah. Where the fuck is this place you've brought us to? I don't even think I want to know.”

“Wow, Duke, way to copy Chandler. The last thing any of us needs is a contest to see which of you can out bitch the other,” Veronica muttered, reaching over to her boyfriend, who handed her a cigarette before taking out a zippo and lighting it up for her. She took a drag and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

“No one made you queen,” Chandler said. “Even if you are the one with the creepy boyfriend with God powers.”

Heather frowned, looking at the boy, who was quiet, trying but not really looking as pissed off as she thought he wanted to be. He was trying to hide under that, but she didn't know why.

“Will someone please tell me what is going on?”

“Soulmates exist,” Martha said before anyone else could. “And so do abilities. We found that out today. You remember at lunch... Veronica and JD, how weird it was when they met?”

“He collapsed... and then Veronica did and... That's what it's like when soulmates meet? I thought it was supposed to be—”

“The romance novels are full of shit,” JD said. “Everyone gets the idea that it's some wonderous, grand thing because of those lies, but guess what? People aren't supposed to have abilities. That's not right or natural. And this? It's about as fucked up as it gets.”

Heather swallowed. “You're saying that because he could order you around like he did us, right? He did that to you... a lot?”

“Yeah, about that,” Duke said. “Why the hell didn't you tell us about him when we were trying to help you and Veronica figure this out? You knew then. You knew what we thought you were. You knew about all of this and you said nothing. Not one word of warning, not a damned—”

“Wake the fuck up,” JD snapped, moving away from the wall to get right in her face. “You know what he can do. You think that asshole let me out of the house without telling me not to tell anyone? You think he let me go _anywhere_ without giving me orders? Fuck, no. Even if no one would have believed me about what he could do, he wouldn't let me tell anyone. And that shit he pulled on you back there, telling you to spill your guts, threatening to make you kill yourselves? That's _nothing._ So don't get yourselves all high and mighty and tell me I should have told you. Even if I could have—and I fucking couldn't, which should have been pretty damned obvious—I don't think I would have. You thought we were a science experiment. You came in with your romance novels and preconceived ideas and you know what? You knew nothing. So screw you. I don't owe you a damned thing.”

Duke stared at him. Heather thought she was terrified, which was understandable because he was pretty scary like that.

“Your dad did try and kill us because he thought we were hiding you from him,” Martha said. “That... doesn't that mean... shouldn't you...”

“What? Feel sorry for you?” JD asked. “No one asked you to take me away from the school.”

“Ram and Kurt could have killed you while you were out of it, Dead Zone,” Duke said, recovering a little. “So maybe we didn't—none of us knew we were going to piss off your dad.”

“Some of us had nothing to do with it,” Chandler said, and he snorted.

“You sicced those jock assholes on me, and you think that's nothing?” JD asked her. “Yeah, no, and not in his opinion, either. Oh, he can do what he pleases to me, order me to break my own fingers, but you know the sickest part about the bastard is that he wants me alive. So... he would probably take offense to you having the jock squad beat me. Just saying.”

“Can we please stop arguing?” Heather asked. “I still don't understand all of what is going on, and you don't have to be scary just because they're being bitches. They're always bitches.”

“Yeah, well, who's to say I wouldn't always be scary? Even I don't know because I never get to be myself,” he said, bitter but a lot less loud about it as he went back to his own side of the room.

Veronica crossed to him. She didn't say anything, just wrapped her arms around him. He stiffened, standing there all awkwardly like he didn't know how to feel about her touching him. Heather thought he wanted it but didn't want them to think he was weak.

“We should probably talk about the other part of it, too,” Martha said. She swallowed. “There was... I mean... he said... was your dad telling the truth about you? Can you actually do that? We thought... Heather calls you Dead Zone because you see the future, but... can you do more?”

“Your dad thought so,” Duke added. “He said you—you don't need soulmates to give people power. He said it, and you acted like you agreed with him. You made it sound like... you did it to me. Like you could do it to Martha and Heather. And that you already did it to Heather. Can she really... manipulate toxins?”

“Get a brain, Heather. If I couldn't, I'd be dead. That asshole made me drink drain cleaner.”

“And... you really did that for me?” Duke asked. “That was the silence that happened? That was... me? No. That can't be me.”

“So, wait, Martha can actually—and I can actually—I can make light? That's... you were making that up, weren't you? For him? You couldn't actually have done anything. He ordered you not to,” Heather said, trying to make sense of this. “And... No one ever said, but where are we? Why are we here?”

“It's a creepy as fuck rundown motel, Heather,” Chandler said. “What else do you really need to know about it? The only thing that matters is that we're away from that jerk and he has no reason to come here to find us, right? No one he can bully into telling him where we are. We've got no connection to this place.”

“Unless he does,” Duke said. “Do you?”

JD shook his head. “I just remembered seeing it on the way to school.”

“Then he knows about it.”

“Why would he think we'd come to some rundown abandoned building?”

“Well, JD might, and he's looking for him, so—”

“It's unlikely he'll come here even if he remembers seeing it or thinks I'd come to a place like this. It's... My mom's cousin called it... a 'void.' It's... Places get tainted with stuff, and people won't stay there because they can feel it even if they don't consciously recognize it. I can usually spot them when we drive past. I was told they're good for hiding, especially from people like him.” JD answered, rising. “This is just some old rundown motel, too far off the main drag to make it work as anything more than a by the hour hook up, but it's also not a good place for that because too many people would see you going in and out.”

“It should have done great, being so close to a high school,” Veronica said. “Lots of kids would want a quick hook up.”

“That's what the back of a car is for.”

“Can we please focus on whether or not JD gave us abilities?”

“No,” he said immediately. “I don't give abilities. That's not... you have the potential or you don't. That's not something I decide. That's got nothing to do with me.”

“Why not?” Duke asked. “It seems like you've got these... God-like abilities anyway.”

“I fucking do not,” JD snapped. “I have nothing good and nothing useful, okay? Just leave it alone.”

“You seeing the future did save Heather's life,” Martha said. “The visions you got led to you and Veronica going there, and Heather does believe you saved her.”

He shook his head. “I didn't save anyone.”

“Cut the crap,” Chandler told him. “You can do it. You can activate people. You did it with me. You did it to Heather. You've probably done it with others.”

“Veronica.”

“No. I didn't do shit to her. I...” He grabbed his head. Heather could only stare as he fell. Veronica followed him down, kneeling next to him. She put a hand on him and shuddered, pulling away.

“What is it? Did someone else die?”

She shook her head. “No... it was the darkness again... he's just seeing darkness.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls try to figure out what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew two things: they had to work on what they could do and they really, really need explanations. This was a step toward both of those things.

* * *

_  
“What's wrong with you?”_

_“Don't like this place much,” Taylor admitted, fidgeting again. He stopped and looked over at JD. “You're sure this doesn't bother you? You don't feel it... at all?”_

_JD looked back at the school not far from them, shrugging and leaning against the tree. “No. I don't see any way it's different from the other hellholes. Well, aside from the stranger danger, I guess.”_

_“Shut up,” Taylor muttered, and JD just smirked. He didn't know what it was about this guy, but he felt comfortable with him, like he could tease and not have it have an edge. He didn't hate him, wasn't afraid of him. It was weird._

_It didn't help that he knew about his father's orders and was apparently his mother's cousin. That didn't seem real, but JD found he could accept it and leave it as it was._

_Besides, if he was right, JD was going to forget all of this anyway._

_“What's wrong with this place? Aside from the whole school thing? Because that would be enough to put everyone off it.”_

_“School wasn't that bad. Didn't teach me the life skills I needed, but then I'm a freak who used to chase down criminals for a living.”_

_“Used to?”_

_Taylor grimaced. “Eh, well... the wife kind of put her foot down when I almost didn't make it to our daughter's first birthday. So... yeah, I kind of hung up that badge and took another. I've been mostly doing missing persons lately.”_

_“That's safer?”_

_“When more than half of them are dead?” Taylor asked. “Yeah, it's safer. It's just... depressing as hell.”_

_“And then you come spend time with me. You're messed in the head, you know.”_

_Taylor laughed. “I suppose I am. I don't know... I just... I wish she'd have come with me back when I first found her. I wish she'd let me help her before it was too late or that I could have gotten you away from this. Sometimes I think you'd have ended up with us. My better half would like that. She always wants to send you something, but he just hurts you more if there's a physical reminder we were here. All we can do is hope that you will remember once you're free of him.”_

_JD studied him. “You consider yourself... my dad?”_

_“Ugh. No. You know I was younger than your mom when she had you. That's just wrong.”_

_JD wasn't sure he believed that, but he didn't know what of Taylor's stories were true and what was teasing and what to think half the time. “Why does this place bother you?”_

_“It's a void.”_

_“A void?”_

_“Places can get touched by things that happen, same as people. We don't see it because it's been rebuilt or covered over, torn down and turned into another building, but there's something... a resonance... people with abilities like ours... we feel them. Can sense that something happened. Most of us have no way of telling what it was, but we know it did.”_

_“Are you part of the most?”_

_Taylor drew in a breath and let it out. “All I can tell is that it was... death. Something here caused it to linger with that sense of... death. And I work with that enough to know what it feels like.”_

_“So, what, there's a dead body buried out here?”_

_“No. It's not that. It's... there was something here, something that caused death in a high enough number... I'd have to look it up at the library but we're probably talking... a fire that took a whole family or some kind of accident with a car full of people or a bus... I told you—I don't get specific answers. I don't see that stuff. I just know what it feels like when death has left an impression somewhere. I'm even more sensitive to it now than I was a few years ago.”_

_JD nodded. “Okay. Is there any point to the voids?”_

_“Well, as I said, they unsettle people like us, so there's a chance... it's a better hiding place if you're looking to hide from someone like us.”_

_“Like my dad?”_

_“I'm not sure Bud Dean would care, but it's possible.”_

* * *

“He still out?”

Veronica nodded, running her hands through JD's hair, unable to help her worry. She didn't know what to do. Seeing him like this was scary, but so was everything else. Things had gotten so crazy since lunch, and nothing was ever going to be the same. She didn't even know that it would have been okay if she and JD didn't have abilities. Somehow it felt like meeting him had changed everything and no matter what, powers or no powers, it would always be like that for them.

“Still seeing darkness?”

She nodded again, though it had been a while since she'd checked, preferring not to look at that darkness. Whatever was in it didn't feel... right. It was something warped and wrong, and given the dark stuff she'd seen in the other glimpses, it couldn't be good.

“The others are talking about leaving,” Martha said, and Veronica frowned. “I don't think I want to, since as much as my parents will worry, I don't want to risk going home. I want to believe my family is safer if I don't. Right now, they don't know anything, so he'd just ask them, get mad, and leave, right?”

Veronica sighed. “I don't know. I don't know enough about JD's dad to be sure, but I wouldn't think he'd go around killing everyone. It will draw too much attention to him.”

“Yeah, but none of us can stop him, right? He gives us an order, and we're done. Even Heather Chandler... he'd just find a way to kill her with something besides poison. And Heather Duke... she doesn't know how to make the silence to stop him.”

“That might be a start, figuring that out, as it did help before,” Veronica said, though she honestly didn't know what to do. She wasn't sure if Duke could do that again or if it would work a second time. Bud knowing what Duke could do probably meant that she'd be his first target and he might actually kill her without a command.

“Yeah, well, she's not really willing to work on it. The others want to go.”

Veronica knew she was going to have to do something about it, and she almost wished that JD had activated Martha. She seemed more interested in figuring out what was going on than getting her own life back, more concerned about what would happen to the others besides them.

“I think Heather McNamara is really worried about her mom.”

“I know, but he's got to know that and it would be a trap to go back there,” Veronica said, sure of at least that much.

“I wish I was as strong as he said I was. You think he made that up for his dad?”

Veronica looked down at JD. “No. I think he can tell what you can do. It's part of turning it on. He can see whatever it is and flip the switch that makes it go.”

“You don't sound happy about that.”

Veronica grimaced. “I... he and I... well... he didn't tell me that he'd saved Heather by activating her. He didn't say he was going to get us out of there by activating Duke. He didn't say anything about this other power, but it seems like it's why his father wants him and... I don't know. It hurts, which is stupid, but I thought... I thought he'd tell me more. Stupid, I guess.”

“You're his soulmate. You're supposed to get told more.”

Veronica swallowed. “Um, Martha... if JD can really do what we think he can do... there's no real reason to think I'm his soulmate, either. We were flirting, definitely attracted to each other, but everyone knows you can be attracted to someone and not in love with them, not meant for them. It... He was cute. I saw him and... And it seemed like more because he can do this. That's all.”

Martha frowned. “That's depressing. I... I really wanted to believe in the soulmate thing.”

Veronica shrugged. “I don't think it's all it's cracked up to be. We all bought into the romantic side of it, not so much the practical.”

“Are you just a sponge? Or did he tell you that you were something else?”

Veronica bit her lip, thinking about what JD had said about her. _I think you can actually control other abilities. You can shut them off. You take hold of them and silence them._

Was he right about that? And if he was—why hadn't he asked her to do that with his dad? Why use Heather Duke's ability over hers?

* * *

“We are going home.”

“Heather, don't be stupid,” Veronica said, and Chandler looked at her, the sort of look that would have cowed anyone earlier today, but everything was different now, even if Chandler had powers. Heather didn't know what to think about that, since a part of her was afraid that Chandler could use them to do bad things, not just the good she'd promised in saving Heather's mom.

“This is stupid. Staying here is just... dumb. We don't know where we are, we don't know what that creep will do while we sit here, and there's actually a very simple—”

“No,” Veronica said, arms folded over her chest. “He said he would do that, go to his dad for you guys, but no. That's not an option. Don't you get it? That creep wants JD because of what he can do. If he was able to give you and Duke powers, what if he did that with everyone? What if his dad made him do that to some criminal?”

“What makes you think he hasn't?” Chandler asked, arms folded over her chest. “Think about it, Veronica. Your freak show boyfriend has god powers, but his dad can control anyone which makes him even more powerful. So his god powers probably got used for some terrible shit before.”

“All the more reason not to give JD back to him,” Duke said, and Chandler turned back to her with a frown. “I don't think that we can afford to have someone with JD's powers—or any of ours—at the mercy of that creep. Even if the guy can't make JD do that, what if—I mean, think about what you can do, Heather. You can manipulate poison. How many people could you kill if he ordered you to?”

Chandler actually paled. “I haven't killed anyone.”

“Yeah, but your words were poison,” Veronica said. “That's what JD said... not just your words were poison now.”

“You could be like that lady from the comics,” Martha said. “Poison Ivy. In Batman. She... she was immune to toxins but she could create them and she used them to control people and kill them. It was bad. Really bad. Not that she's the worst Batman villain, but she is pretty bad.”

“Comic books? Really?”

“It's not like the mainstream world treats this the way it should,” Duke said. “All we've got is a few anecdotal accounts and romance novels to go on, which isn't the least bit helpful. And our closest thing to an expert is out cold again. It was freaky as hell when he was seeing terrible futures, but he's seeing darkness. What does that sound like to you, Heather?”

“The end of the world,” Heather said, even though she knew that question was for Chandler, not her. She looked down at her hands. “I guess I wish he'd started me, then. Maybe... Maybe I could make it light again.”

“Not if it's the end of the world,” Martha said. “That's... something else. Something we may not be able to do anything about.”

“We can't do anything about anything right now,” Duke snapped. “None of us knows how to control what we can do, and he's unconscious. We didn't get any real answers, and that asshole he has for a father is out there. He can hurt all of our families, and we're stuck here. This is fucking great.”

“Earlier,” Veronica began, “you said that JD and I should practice. That I should practice. You can. You and Heather both should, because we may need what you can do.”

“And you?”

Veronica swallowed. “I was going to sit with JD again, see if... being around him would wake him faster. I was able to bring him out before.”

“Veronica, you... we thought you were a sponge, right?” Martha asked. “That... you can pick up what others do. Maybe... maybe we need you to practice more than anyone. What if you can take his dad's ability and use it?”

Heather stared at her. “Is that really what you can do? Why didn't you do that back there?”

“I don't know that's what I can do,” Veronica said. “And... it seems like I have to touch the person to do it—I've only ever done stuff with JD—and it might not even be that. Just because I see what he sees doesn't mean I'm taking over his ability.”

“It could be touch telepathy,” Martha said. “That's possible, too. We only know she saw what JD saw, not that she absorbed what he could do.”

“I think you all need to practice, then,” Heather said. She remembered how it felt when she was acting cheerleading captain. “And we're going to start right now.”

* * *

McNamara was a pretty demanding task master, Heather thought. Maybe she wasn't cheer captain for a reason—everyone would have revolted after a couple practices like this. Every time they stopped, McNamara pushed them for another test. Another show.

Heather felt a bit like a circus freak, put on display and forced to entertain others no matter how tired she was or how little she understood what she was doing. No one here could explain to her how to even access her ability, and she'd had to draw on stuff she read—which mostly didn't help—and her own ideas to get anywhere.

And she didn't really feel like she was anywhere.

Chandler had killed half a dozen plants, so she had something to show for her efforts, but all Heather had was a few possible echos. She felt like a complete failure.

“Okay, that silence thing is still super creepy,” Martha said, shuddering. She tried to force a smile a second later. “It is kind of cool that you can do that, though.”

Heather tried to smile back. She didn't feel like it was that interesting. Veronica's power had more complexity and potential, even if so far all she'd managed to do was a pathetic echo, same as Heather's.

She had the lamest ability ever. Martha's or McNamara's would be more useful. She was sure of that. They could actually hurt that creep if he got close again. She couldn't even manage to make the silence last for more than a few seconds.

“It's really stupid,” Heather disagreed. “This power... it doesn't help anyone.”

“It did before,” Martha said. “And it can again. It's just going to take more time. And practice.”

“Exactly,” McNamara said, and Heather just knew that she was going to order them into another round of practice. She started to object, not at all up for another failed attempt, since she was starting to get a headache, too, but then they heard it.

Something fell in the other room.

“JD,” Veronica said, getting to her feet and running off before anyone else could react. Heather looked at the others and then they were all doing the same.

They'd left him alone to practice, but now, just now, Heather realized how much of a mistake that was. They should have been keeping an eye on him. What if his father showed up? What if he was here, now, and had JD and they'd left him for the bastard like a sacrifice or something?

Heather ran into the room, stopped just behind Veronica, aware of the others behind her. She swallowed, edging closer to Veronica, who was just staring in shock at the man next to JD. He had him in his lap, and Heather would have sworn he looked... worried. Upset. Like somehow he knew JD and cared about him, but how? Who even was this guy?

“Okay, that's not his creepy father.”

“No,” Chandler agreed. “Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?”

“That...” the man holding JD began, “is a very, very long story.”

“I think you're going to have to tell it. Now. And fast,” Veronica ordered. “And get away from him. I don't care who you are, but you leave him alone. Right now.”

“Oh, I have an advantage over you, then,” the man said, smiling a little. “I can tell you're his soulmate.”

“I—No. Just because I'm protective of him doesn't mean—”

“And I know a hell of a lot more than that,” the man went on with that same smile. “This boy's mother was my cousin. I've never been too clear on how those once or twice removed things work, but I know he's some kind of cousin to me, too.”

“You're kidding.”

“No. And you can call me Taylor.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taylor does and doesn't explain a few things to the girls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This conversation was a lot more difficult to get through than I thought it would be.

* * *

“There's no way we can trust him. We have no idea who he is, and just because he says he's Dead Zone's cousin doesn't mean he is. And Dead Zone's dad is a complete creep, so even if this guy is family, he clearly can't be trusted,” Heather said, tugging on Veronica's arm, knowing that she was likely to believe this guy. He probably had her convinced the moment he said she was JD's soulmate.

“We should make him leave,” Chandler agreed, swallowing, like she was trying to convince herself she actually could use her poison ability on him.

Heather knew her sound waves wouldn't do any good unless maybe they wanted a distraction, but that wasn't going to help. It only worked the once, and Heather couldn't control it enough to make the echos show up where she wanted them to.

“It would be kind of pointless to force me out of here,” Taylor said, seemingly perfectly calm. “I'm capable of finding any of you anywhere. That's what I do and the answer to your other question—what I'm doing here. I came for my cousin.”

“You... can find us anywhere? What, like... in a vision? Like what Dead Zone gets?”

Taylor looked down at JD, frowning. “Visions?”

“Possible futures,” Veronica said, and Heather almost reached over to smack her, even if she'd been the one to blurt out the stupidity first. Last thing they needed was this guy knowing anything. If he was connected to Bud Dean, telling him anything was a mistake.

Taylor winced. “Oh, kid. I'm so sorry. Grandfather always said that one was nothing but a curse.”

“What?” Heather heard herself ask. “You—your grandfather could do what he does?”

“Yes. As far as I knew, he was the only one—no one I've ever encountered besides him could. And I know that wasn't something he could do before,” Taylor said. He looked at Veronica. “He's gotten more since he met you, hasn't he?”

“All we knew about was the Dead Zone part,” Martha said. “They met in the cafeteria, he went down with the vision thing and then—”

“Why the fuck are we telling this guy anything? We can't trust him. We don't know if anything he said is true, and that other asshole who tried to kill us is still out there. What if this guy is working with him?”

“The day I work with Bud Dean is a cold day in hell,” Taylor said. He looked down at JD. “That's never going to happen.”

“And we just... take your word for this, too?”

“I'm afraid I don't have much of anything in the way of proof. I could show you what I could do if we had time to play tag, but we don't,” he said. “We have to stop Bud. Quickly.”

Veronica swallowed. “Did he kill someone else? He did, didn't he? Did you even track JD or was it all the deaths that Bud's caused that led you here?”

Taylor shook his head. “You're thinking of him as a one man wrecking ball, an unstoppable, chaotic, killing everything in his path. That's not what he's usually like. Oh, he's not afraid to kill. He will. He doesn't think much of anyone's life but his own. And his son—he's determined to keep JD alive as long as he believes he can use him—”

“But the rest of us, we can just die, right?” McNamara asked. “He doesn't care what happens to anyone here. He could kill us all.”

“Yes, though normally... he's more likely to order people to mind their own business or forget he was ever there. It's a bit... unusual for him to go around so blatantly...” Taylor trailed off and looked down at JD again. “How long is it? A couple weeks? Or months? It's soon, isn't it? Damn, if I could remember the exact date...”

“What are you talking about?”

“When JD turns eighteen,” Veronica said, and Taylor nodded. “Would that even matter to Bud? He can still order JD around after that happens.”

“Yes, but he loses legal control of JD when that happens. If JD were to get away from him, he'd no longer have the right to get him back. Cops won't look for him, CPS won't hand him back, he'd have say in his own medical decisions, could appoint someone else as his proxy for that stuff... Yes, that matters. In the past, when JD went comatose after defying an order, he had to be hospitalized and Bud made the decisions for him, including taking him out of the hospital early and disappearing. Bud can't afford to lose all that before he gets what he wants from JD. Sure, he could hire detectives to help him the boy again, he's got the money—he has a lot of money—but he's never been able to find my family with it.”

“He's after your family?”

Taylor nodded. “In part because we have tried to get JD away from him, in part because he doesn't want anyone challenging his power. We oppose him, and he can't stand that. We're also a threat in that we collectively have more power than he does.”

“So just rip JD away from him.”

“It's more complicated than that,” Taylor said. “Did you miss me saying JD went comatose for disobeying the orders? There's a physical price for defiance, if it happens at all. He's paid it more times than you know. And even if there wasn't... Bud's given him some messed up orders before to make him stay. The kid took a bullet for him once. It's not as simple as you think.”

“We walked away from him when Heather's ability caused there to be complete silence.”

Taylor looked at her. “Really?”

Heather tensed. “It's not me. I can't—”

“It's you.” He took a breath. “Your ability is you the same way your hair and your eyes and even your illness is you.”

“What?”

“You're bulimic. That's not healthy.”

“Holy fuck,” Chandler said. “How did you know about that? Did someone—who could have—would have told you that?”

Heather just kept staring. No one would have. Not really. Even if she'd been sick before and her parents wanted her to see a doctor and all of that.

“It's part of what I can do,” Taylor said. “Told you—I can track people anywhere. Now back to the main problem at hand.”

“The fact that Dead Zone's creepy dad wants him back and will kill anyone standing in his way?” Chandler said. “What are we going to do about that? Assuming we believe any of what you've said, that is. Because we still don't have any good reason to.”

Taylor sighed, looking down at JD. “It would be kind of nice if you'd wake up and help me out here. That is... if you even remember me.”

“What?”

Taylor gave them a slight smile. “You know about Bud and somehow think that he would let someone as talented as JD out of the house without controlling him? Absolutely not. Bud figured out a long time ago what JD could do, and he wanted that for himself. He couldn't risk JD knowing enough about what he could do to actually use it to get away from him. I tried to help him, but Bud would make him forget that I was there.”

“Why would he even know?”

“Because he was under orders to tell Bud everything that happened that day and everyone he spoke to and if someone else happened to get involved, it was worse,” Taylor answered. “Some of the family said it would be better just to stay away, but I couldn't leave him there. If I'd known that Bud was why Tricia didn't leave, I'd have tried to act sooner, but I didn't know.”

“Tricia... your cousin... JD's mom?”

Taylor nodded. “She... We had... a falling out. That's another long story for another time. The only thing you really need to know about that is that she ran off with Bud to spite us. I found her not long after her son was born, tried to convince her to come back, but she wouldn't. She didn't tell me about her husband, not that I visited when he was around to see it or realize she was under orders. She... She'd been through a really bad trauma before she left... she wasn't the same, so I didn't see it.”

“When did you know what Bud could do?”

“After he killed her.”

Veronica flinched. “He killed JD's mom?”

“Ordered her to kill herself, but yes. I found the boy at the funeral, got my first taste of what Bud Dean could do, and I've spent ever since working on a way around him, trying to get JD the information he needed to survive and cope with what he can do.”

“Even if Bud knows about it?”

“There are small loopholes in the orders. JD found his way around them whenever he could. Semantics. It's an interesting thing. Bud says don't say anything, so he wrote things down. He said don't talk about the orders, so he talked around it.”

“That still doesn't explain how he was able to activate Heather after his dad told him not to,” Chandler said. “Is he immune now or something? You said he was more powerful or something.”

“Not exactly,” Taylor said. “It's... well, frankly, we're in a bit of uncharted territory here.”

“I thought your family knew about all this shit.”

“We know a lot, there being a lot of us with abilities in our little group and a lot of us finding them... on the youngish side, but we're not experts. No one is. And... JD is unique even from the rest of us.”

“Because he can activate others?”

“That is an ability unlike anyone else's I've seen. I admit that.”

“And you've seen a lot?”

“My grandfather and grandmother were soulmates. My parents were soulmates. All my aunts and uncles had soulmates. I have a soulmate. Most of my cousins do, too. Except Meryl, but he's an ass, so no one's surprised about that.”

“Are you... a Woods? That family that made that book that—”

“No, I'm not,” Taylor said, a bit of bitterness in his voice. Heather frowned, and Martha started to ask but he held up a hand. “Don't. Those—the publicity seekers—that no. Just. No.”

“I take it there's another part of your family you had a falling out with?”

“Do you have any idea what our lives were like after those idiots gave that interview and published that book? I was still a kid back then, but I did find the bane of my existence early, and I was a mess when it first happened. There were people everywhere, press crowding in and my brain trying to explode and—I—well, I owe Tricia, I guess we'll leave it at that, but we still had to move, had to give up everything... I was forced away from my wife—well, we were kids, she wasn't my wife yet—and I thought I'd lost her for good... that screwed our lives over good, that damned book. I suppose we should be grateful... we had the skills to disappear by the time Bud Dean started hunting us down.”

“Can you help us?” Heather asked, ignoring the look from Chandler. “Can you... teach us to control stuff?”

“What I do is different. Everyone has to master their own ability, and it's not the same for everyone, though I can teach you a few basic things to help.”

“What about JD?” Veronica asked. “This... he's always woken up before, and he's only seeing darkness now, not the future... unless the future is the darkness. Is it?”

Taylor drew in a breath. “Grandfather never spoke much about what he saw. He was big on that, didn't want what he told us making that future become set, no matter what it might be. He always told us that there were always possibilities. Nothing we do is set. So even if what he's seeing is darkness, it's not unavoidable.”

“Is his father behind the darkness?”

“Bud isn't the only evil in the world.”

* * *

“I think it's best you rest as much as possible. Bud isn't here or on his way, and I'll know if that changes,” Taylor said. He still hadn't moved from his spot holding JD, and Veronica didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, it was sweet. It seemed kind. It made her want to believe that Taylor genuinely cared about JD.

On the other hand, it worried her.

“We're just supposed to sleep after everything you've told us?” Chandler demanded, her arms folded over her chest. “How about no? It's not like we got all the answers we need or want or have enough control over—”

“You shouldn't poison anyone in your sleep, though you might keep your distance from the others for a while just in case, if that's what you're wondering,” Taylor told her, and Veronica thought he was enjoying her discomfort and probably teasing about her killing someone in her sleep. Maybe. Hopefully.

“That's messed up.”

“No one said this life was easy. It's different. It's also been romanticized.”

Martha frowned. “You're happily married, though, right?”

Duke rolled her eyes. “Didn't you hear him call his soulmate the bane of his existence?”

Veronica tried not to laugh. “I think he does that to annoy her, even when she's not around.”

“You caught me,” he said. “You see people very well, don't you? I imagine your gift at mimicry comes from that.”

“What? Is that what I am? What I—”

“Question—are you a good forger? Have you always been?”

Veronica frowned. “That's another one of those things you can see with what you do? I don't even know how you can tell that, but... yes. I can. I've been able to forge stuff for a long time. And I could... I could draw pictures that were almost exactly like the ones in coloring books. It was like... tracing or xeroxing them only I didn't.”

He nodded. “Sounds about right.”

“Wait, so all Veronica is—she's just a mimic?”

Before Taylor could answer that, JD let out a groan and rolled over, sounding like someone had just kicked the crap out of him. Taylor caught him before he fell.

“Easy, kid.”

“Taylor?” JD asked, trying to sit up and then wincing and going still.

“He knows you. I thought you said he wouldn't remember you.”

“I said he might not,” Taylor corrected. He looked down at JD, who was still frowning like he was hungover or something worse. “I take it you found a way around that order, then. Different definition of forever?”

“Think so. It's... still fuzzy.”

“Then you don't have to tell Meryl his idea worked,” Taylor told him, smiling, and JD managed a short laugh that became a cough. “Easy, now. You're still not used to that. Grandfather used to say it would take him down for weeks when it first started. He got better at dealing with it. By the end, it was like... having the radio or tv on in the background.”

“That even... possible?”

Taylor shrugged. “I can only tell you what he told me. I know for me, the sense of everyone around me was so bad—”

“You almost killed yourself,” JD said, forcing himself up that time. “I remember that part. Not all of it... came back. Just... parts.”

“Figured as much. I tried explaining a few things to your friends—”

“Not my friends.”

“Yeah, we're not so keen on being King Creepy's little witch party or whatever it is he thinks we are. We are not his army to use against his dad.”

Taylor laughed. “If that was what JD was after, he'd know it would never work. Touched based abilities aren't any good against a man who can stop you from moving. And seriously? Dead Zone was a much better nickname.”

“She just doesn't like it because I came up with it,” Duke said, smiling a little. “Though... it's kind of—did you really activate me? And does that mean that—”

“I am going to puke, and then I'm going back to bed,” JD muttered. “Got nothing to say to any of you. And yes, Taylor, that includes you.”

He stumbled away from them, going toward the door.

“Well, that was helpful,” Chandler muttered. McNamara frowned at her.

“Didn't you hear him? He's in pain and sick. Of course he doesn't want to talk right now. We'll try again in the morning. We're all tired and cranky anyway, so we may as well sleep if we can. Mr. Taylor said he'd keep watch.”

“Yes.”

“You look exhausted.”

“Doesn't matter if I'm tired. Once I've focused on someone, I track them even in my sleep. I'll know if he moves,” Taylor assured them. “We'll have enough warning to get out of here, and while it'll be a tight fit, my car has room.”

“That ability of yours sounds awful.”

He gave Heather a one-eyed glance. “You have no idea.”

Veronica grimaced, agreeing with that sentiment, though JD's still seemed worse. She swallowed and went after him, not wanting him to be alone even if his father wasn't here.

* * *

“JD?”

He tensed, wishing he was still asleep. He didn't want to talk to anyone, and definitely not her. If there was anyone it was hard to face, it was Veronica. She deserved so much more than this, and if he'd known, he would never have dragged her into it.

“You feeling okay?”

“You should go sleep,” he said, not looking at her. “I'm going back to that in a bit.”

“You weren't sleeping before,” she said, coming up to touch his back and he almost jumped when she did. He wasn't seeing anything, so there wasn't anything for her to pick up on, but he still didn't know that he wanted her touching him. “What's going on? I... I get the feeling that Taylor's not telling us everything. And I can see why he wouldn't. He seems really worried about you.”

“I guess.”

“You don't think so?” Veronica asked, frowning. “Should we... not trust him? I mean, I thought he was holding back, but he does care about you, doesn't he?”

“Seems to. At least... from what I can remember. It's a bit hard... every time I saw him, I had no idea who he was,” JD said. “And... there's a lot of time still missing. I'm not sure if I'll ever get all of it back.”

“But he did come to see you.”

“Yes.”

“And he tried to free you from your dad.”

“Yes.”

“Was it as bad as he said it was?”

“Bud ordered him to kill himself in front of me a couple times. He should be dead.” JD couldn't suppress the shudder that came with those words. He hadn't wanted to remember those times, and he wished those memories had stayed buried, even if he needed to know about the stuff Taylor had told him around that time.

“That was your dad. Not you. You didn't do that to him.”

He did. She didn't know that, didn't understand, but he did. He'd gotten that conversation back, too. He knew what he'd done when he was younger. He knew who was to blame for all of this. “You really should try to sleep, Veronica.”

She reached up to touch his cheek. “Why are you trying to send me away?”

“You should rest.”

“Please don't lie to me,” she said. “That is not why you want me to go. You've been nervous since I walked in here. What did I do?”

“What?” JD choked out. “I didn't—you didn't do anything.”

“It's still something, though. Something about me is bothering you. You and your cousin. He's not—you're—not willing to tell me what I really can do. What is it? Is it something terrible? He keeps avoiding the questions, said I was some kind of mimic but didn't answer if that was all I did, but you said I could control other people's abilities and shut them down. What is it? Were you wrong or is he trying to keep that from the others? And why didn't you want me to use what you think I can do against your dad?”

“My dad can't know about what you can do,” JD said, swallowing and feeling sick. He had to protect her. She was too important. She was everything.

“You sound scared.”

“I... You... I don't want anything to happen to you.”

“Same here,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. He winced. He couldn't do this. He didn't deserve her. If she knew what he'd done, she'd hate him. They all would. “I'm worried about you. About that darkness you keep seeing.”

“Um...”

“Do you know what it is?”

“The memories coming back, maybe,” JD suggested. “All I know is that it's dark. That could go along with the holes in my memories.”

“So... it's not some future apocalypse brought on by your dad or something?”

He wanted to laugh. The idea should be completely absurd. Ridiculous. Impossible. Yet... he couldn't shake the uneasiness he felt at her words. Something bad was coming, and his father was only a part of it.

He was the rest.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple of nighttime conversations with Taylor end up really unsettling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate being at that point in the story where there's all this stuff churning for things ahead but there's this giant gap from where you are and where you need to be and it seems impossible to bridge.
> 
> That is where this story is. It would be really nice if that naggling line could really shut up about now, but it won't.

* * *

“I figured you wouldn't wait long to get me alone.”

JD sat down next to his cousin. Anyone with half a brain could have guessed that, seeing as they hadn't had a real chance to talk, ever, and Taylor knew a whole lot more about all of this than JD did, even with a few of his memories coming back and the insights his creepy looks into the future had given him.

“She's asleep, then?” Taylor asked, looking over at where JD had left Veronica.

“You know I couldn't come find you if she wasn't,” JD said. “Are you stalling?”

His cousin rolled his shoulders, trying to get comfortable. Despite the exhaustion that was all over him, Taylor clearly wasn't sleeping or about to any time soon. “I don't know how much you remember.”

“That's not an excuse.”

“I've told you before—the line between what you need to know and what I should tell you is very thin, and I've overstepped it before. It upset you, led to some pretty devastating consequences... I have a feeling if CPS ever got a good look at you, had a doctor examine you, they'd find so many old, unexplained scars, Bud should be arrested on the spot... and yet you've never seen a doctor for most of them. The family curse.”

“Healing is a curse?”

“Just ask my wife, kid.”

JD glared at him. “Don't call me kid.”

“You still are one, abilities and trauma notwithstanding,” Taylor said. “Innocence goes young in this life, that's true, and most of us are disillusioned by the time we're your age, but that doesn't mean that we're all doomed, either. And don't give me that look—our family is not creepy and inbred or anything. We just... seem to be exceptionally good at finding soulmates, some of us a lot earlier than we would have liked.”

“How old were you?”

“Eight. We were on the playground at school, girls still had cooties back then, and I'd just set myself up to give that new one a first day she'd never forget when I went to shove her and fell ass over feet into a mental hell.” Taylor closed his eyes for a minute. “We really did hate each other back then, and my 'weirdness' didn't win me any favors in her opinion even before we had to move.”

“Did... does that... I don't... how can you know when you're that young? How does it even... work?”

“There's a physical response to the proximity, near as we can figure. A lot of us have specific memories of actually touching our soulmate to make the trigger happen, but it's not always like that.” Taylor looked at him. “You touched her when you met, didn't you?”

JD nodded. “Her face. We were flirting and... I just felt this... pull. I had to. And then...”

“If it's any consolation, the pull to touch your soulmate doesn't really... fade. It's a comfort, a strength, a connection. You crave it, both of you do, and there's something about it that seems to make basic functions of your body feel easier. Lot of mental stuff going on there. Meryl has theories, but I always get tempted to punch him when he starts going off on us, so... I try not to listen, even if this is stuff I probably should know.”

“Is there a specific reason you don't like Meryl?”

“Oh, my dislike for him has to be personal?” Taylor laughed. “No. Not really, though he did say a few pretty insensitive things when we... when my wife miscarried. That's as personal as it gets besides the fact that he's an absolute ass who assumes he knows us because he's on the outside 'studying' us.”

JD nodded, though he was starting to think Taylor was right and JD never wanted to meet this Meryl guy. He'd have some kind of field day with him because if Taylor was a freak, JD was some kind of... superfreak.

Taylor put a hand on his shoulder. “You didn't ask for any of this.”

JD pulled away from him. “What did I do... I... When I started Heather... I knew it would cancel the toxin, but she's... she's a bitch, so what did I do?”

“You're asking the wrong person, but if that's why you've been looking more into the future... it's better not to chase that. They asked Grandfather to, back when your mom and Micheal first met, and he refused. I think they wanted reassurance but Grandfather always said we had to pick our own paths. This... what we are... it seems like things get... set. Like destiny or fate and inevitable, but it isn't. You don't actually have to marry your soulmate or love them. That still takes work to build. It's not like a get out of jail free card. Love doesn't get simpler and last forever just because you met that other half.”

“That why you call your wife the bane of your existence?”

“I call her that because she hates it, and I love needling her with it, but that's harmless. Fun. Flirty, for us. We... I am gone a lot, and people would argue that's not good for a relationship. And then there's the losses we suffered over the years and how I've come close to dying... our love has been tested. It's gone through a few dozen fires and come out stronger for them, but believe me, kid, there were times when I figured it wouldn't.”

JD sighed. “I saw something... in the future... Heather's not a good person. I could have... I created a monster.”

“You don't know that,” Taylor said. “What you did saved her life, and she was hesitant to try and use it against me. Maybe in some other world you saw she had a taste for killing. Maybe you did.”

JD tensed. “You said you couldn't know about that. That you didn't see what I saw.”

“Grandfather said he saw the darkest parts of himself in some of the possibilities, same with the rest of us. He was the kindest man I've ever known and one of the most... sedentary. He rarely did much of anything, so if he feared that, why shouldn't you? You're a mess of teenage hormones and superpowers. It's a frightening combination for anyone to have.”

“Fuck you,” JD snapped. “You know it's worse for me.”

“Agreed. You were strong from the beginning, and it would seem you've picked up a few generational powers along with your own. Or they're facets of what you can do. I'm still not sure about that, but if you think about adding in what your mom could do and what Grandfather did with what you can do... it's like you have the ability not only to activate someone but to see what the best path of that is as well as possible consequences for doing it.”

JD snorted. “My 'ability' is a warning sign of its own. Don't fucking use it. Ever.”

Taylor looked at him. “That true? Did you or did you not save her life by turning on what she could do? And remember, that was only one way the dice roll of her ability could have gone. You could have activated something else and she'd still be dead. You picked the right one. And with the other girl, who can control sound, she blocked Bud for everyone and probably saved all of your lives. Arguably, at least. So were those really mistakes?”

“Yes.”

Taylor shrugged. “I suppose it's still possible. I don't know everything about people, even if I can track them. All I can say is wait and see.”

“We don't have time for that. We have to do something about Bud while we actually can. I don't know how long I can stay free of him.”

“I'd like to argue it could be forever, but he won't take this lightly, and he will try to counter what that girl can do.”

“I am not taking any of them anywhere near him,” JD said. He wasn't. He didn't—they weren't friends, but this thing between him and his dad was his, not anyone else's, and he needed to deal with it himself.

“You know if it was as simple as one of us going up against him ourselves, this would already be over,” Taylor reminded him. “Don't think that you... you're not immune. That's not what happened. If he speaks, you will go under again.”

“He can't even use me for what he wants.”

“You know that. I know that. He doesn't, and even if we tried to explain it to him, it wouldn't convince him. You are a path to power. That's all you have ever been to him, and he won't let that go because it's what he craves most in life. His ability shows that.”

JD shook his head. “There has to be something.”

“I've been telling you for years there's still hope.”

JD swallowed. “No. Not like that.”

“Get some sleep, kid. No real use trying to make a plan when you're too exhausted to think straight.”

* * *

“Ah, another nighttime guest.”

Veronica wasn't surprised when Taylor knew she was coming. That would just have been stupid, and she wasn't stupid. A little confused—a _lot_ confused—but not stupid. She knew that there was more going on here than anyone was saying, and while the others were mostly distracted by Bud Dean's threatening presence and their new abilities, she couldn't stop thinking.

She might have fallen asleep next to JD, but it didn't take long after he must have left her for her to wake. She was almost sure of that much.

“He came to you,” Veronica said, sitting down next to JD. She touched him, but no sense of darkness came, and if he was dreaming, she couldn't see it. He didn't seem to be awake, though, not so much as stirring when she touched him, not unless he was faking really well. “What is it you're not telling us? And don't say that you're not keeping stuff from us. You are. Both of you are.”

“Very astute, but then you know people well, don't you?”

“Not really. It's just... kind of obvious,” Veronica said. She gave Taylor another glance. “Do you even sleep?”

“Rarely.”

“Is that because you lied about tracking in your sleep or—”

“I can track in my sleep,” he said. “That's not a lie. I sometimes wish it wasn't, but when I was tracking criminals it came in handy more than once. As it does with this situation with Bud. Believe me, he wants me dead more than anyone else in my family.”

“Because you found JD. You told him about what he could do. You tried to make it so he could get free of his dad.”

“Yes. And I am very likely the reason Bud turned him into a human shield, but that's a regret for another time as we hardly have time for it now.”

“Do you have a plan of what to do against Bud?”

Taylor hesitated and then nodded slowly. “I have... some thoughts. Theories.”

“Do they involve me stopping Bud? Because that's what JD told me he thought I could do—shut down people's abilities. I can do more than mimic them. I can gain control and shut them off.”

Taylor looked at her. “What do you think you can do?”

“A fat lot of nothing.”

Taylor laughed. “Well, that is one way of describing it. It's difficult, having a passive ability, one that needs someone else to make it work. My cousin Sherry... hers only works around her soulmate, and she hates it. She's not so keen on her soulmate, either.”

“I thought...”

“It's not instant love, which you should know,” Taylor said. “You're not sure you're in love with JD, though I think you both feel something pretty strong now. Is that love? Too soon to tell, really. And before you ask if I knew back when I met mine... I was eight, she had cooties, and we despised each other for a good long time.”

Veronica smiled. “Are you just saying that or—”

“True story. If our youngest wasn't fresh out of the oven, if you know what I mean, she'd be here ordering us all around,” Taylor said. “As it is, I'll be damned lucky if I don't find divorce papers waiting for me when I get back home.”

“She doesn't deserve to be left behind.”

“No. She doesn't. I just...”

“You got a sense of JD that was different this time, didn't you? Because... he's changed since we met. The ability he didn't have before... the one you said was your grandfather's... you're worried, aren't you? He's too... different, isn't he? Something's wrong.”

Taylor watched her. “What are you afraid of, Veronica?”

“Everything right now.”

“No. That's not an answer. You're afraid of Bud Dean getting to you and your friends. You're afraid of what you can or can't do. You're afraid of the darkness in JD's visions. You're afraid of losing him. You're also afraid _of_ him.”

“I am not.”

“Aren't you? He can give people abilities.”

“You're trying to scare me.”

“Am I?”

“Is this some kind of... test?”

“What's coming is going to test everyone plenty,” Taylor said. He looked her over, and she knew he was studying her with more than his eyes. “There's a chance he won't survive what has to be done. Is that something you can accept or not?”

“What, like I'm supposed to be fine with him dying?”

“I've seen people react very, very badly to the loss of a soulmate. It's not a pretty sight.”

“I have a passive ability, remember? I'm not going to do something crazy.”

“Oh, you think that. You say that, but Tricia's ability was more or less passive and she still fucked her life up good when her soulmate died.”

Veronica stared at him. “Bud Dean isn't JD's real father, is he?”

“No.”

She shuddered. That made such a sick amount of sense, didn't it? “Does Bud know?”

“Probably. I had to tell JD about it so he'd understand. He's not just fourth generation on Tricia's side. On Michael's, too.”

“The Woods. The family you can't stand—that's JD's... family, too.”

Taylor nodded. “Not that the issues we have with them are all from what passed between Tricia and Micheal—though I think we all agree on one thing—they were too damned young for what did happen between them—”

“They had sex and she got pregnant.”

“Among other things.” Taylor shifted positions, looking like he was trying to get comfortable again, as much as anyone could here. “They formed a deep connection, the kind of bond those damned novels talk about. They exist, just... it's not all fairy tales like the books made it seem. Tricia basically lost her mind when he died. She couldn't think clearly, and when she turned up pregnant... it did not go over well.”

Veronica shook her head. “Not that I feel like I should have to tell you this, but JD and I have not... we didn't... the most we did was kiss. They joked about us consummating things to get control, but that was all it was—a joke. Half the time, he was passed out and that was... no. Nothing happened.”

Taylor gave her a small smile. “I'd rather not know, all things considered. I was younger than Tricia was when she had JD, but I think I'm still the closest thing to a father he's ever had, messed up as it is. I'd have taken him in with my wife if we could have.”

“At least someone cared about him.”

“Oh, don't think Tricia didn't. She left us because she was afraid someone would make her end the pregnancy.”

“What? Is that true? You'd have... made her abort JD?”

“No. No, though people were definitely... concerned. She was young and traumatized, not in a state to raise a child. We tried to help her, but she had it in her head we wanted JD dead and she wouldn't let us do anything for her or him.”

Veronica sighed. “That is... so wrong. Why would she even think that?”

“Are you going to tell me JD's power doesn't scare you at all?”

She frowned. “What? I don't want him dead. It's a bit... overwhelming to think he can actually do that, but that doesn't mean he has to die.”

“I never said it was a rational fear. What JD can do goes against the natural order of things. People don't like things that challenge what they know of the world. That's half the reason people like us are relegated to fiction. We can't exist because the universe doesn't work that way, or so they all want to believe. We're myths, legends, and stupid nonsense. If a piece of that nonsense can alter what you are, you think the rest of the world won't be terrified of that?”

“He doesn't have to activate anyone, though. He can control it.”

“Now. Not before. Not when he was younger.”

“I don't... How many people has he activated?”

“Honestly, I don't know. I just know that at least one hospital's staff was never the same.”

* * *

JD felt something bump him and opened his eyes, grimacing. He hadn't expected to doze off, not after his conversation with Taylor, but he'd tried again anyway, aware that he couldn't do much against Bud feeling as drained as he did. Seeing that other stuff took a lot out of him, and he still had a headache.

“What?”

“Shh,” Veronica said, snuggling up against him like she was trying to get as close to him as possible.

“Why are you here?” he asked, not sure why she wasn't still asleep in the other room. He'd left her there on purpose, not wanting her to wake up when he talked to Taylor. He wanted her to get some rest even if he was sure he was never going to sleep again.

He almost missed his father's commands for that. He'd never been very good at doing that without an order, not if he was honest about it.

“Talked to your cousin.”

He tensed. “What did he tell you?”

“Nothing I want to think about right now.”

Shit. That couldn't be good. “Veronica—”

“Your mom was a headcase, but people are going to be scared of what you can do, and I'm worried. I'm worried about you and everyone you've ever activated, even if you didn't mean to do it,” she said, tightening her hold on him. “I'm scared.”

“Taylor's an ass. Don't listen to him.”

She shook her head. “We don't know how we're going to stop Bud. And it's not like it ends even if he's gone. People know about you and... and that could be very bad.”

He couldn't deny he had his own fears about what he'd done, and she didn't even know the worst of it, or she wouldn't be here, holding onto him. “You afraid of the Heathers?”

“Chandler's not that nice of a person. She could do real damage with what she can do, and who said she was going to grow up nice even if she didn't get a power that can kill?”

“I saw at least one future where she wasn't a good person, but I saw a lot where I wasn't, so who the fuck am I to judge?”

She sighed. “Do you think that's why you got that ability? The futures? You can see them so you know what you might be doing if you do activate someone?”

“I don't know,” he said, even though he knew Taylor had said something about that. He wasn't sure he bought it. All he knew was he'd already fucked up really badly and had no idea how to fix it.

“Is that why you made me?”

“What? I didn't—”

“You think I can shut down powers, and someone has to stop Bud,” Veronica said. She looked at him. “It's me, isn't it? You made me so I could stop him.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night becomes morning, but things are far from settled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard not to think that everyone's very, very far from the confrontation that has to happen. I'm still not sure how to get there, to be honest.

* * *

“Veronica, I couldn't... I didn't...”

“I can understand why you did it,” she whispered, though it terrified her to be all that stood between Bud Dean and the rest of them. She didn't have enough control, and she knew it. She hadn't actually shut down any of the others, not that she could tell. She'd borrowed them, temporarily, but she hadn't stopped them. Duke could still make echoes. Chandler could still kill plants.

“I didn't,” he said, sounding desperate to believe that. “I... I couldn't... I didn't... I thought... I thought that stuff I was seeing was all I had, just like you all did.”

“It isn't. Taylor said you did know. You just... forgot.”

“I did,” JD choked out. “I did, but that doesn't mean that I—I didn't pick you and put that on you. I swear I didn't. I just... you were... God, you were beautiful, and I wanted to talk to you, and I felt free in a way that I hadn't known in a long time, but I didn't make you. I _didn't.”_

She reached up to touch his face, finding his cheek wet with tears. He pulled away from her, rising and walking toward the door. She winced, knowing he probably blamed himself for her and the others. He had chosen to do that with Duke and Chandler. Activating Chandler saved her life, but who would feel comfortable with that kind of power?

Bud Dean, maybe. He supposedly wanted more than he had, and he seemed gleeful about what he was doing when he ordered people to hurt themselves or others. She'd been worried when he told JD that he was going to make him kill her, but he hadn't actually ordered JD and then JD had gotten Duke to save them all.

She went to JD's side, touching his arm. “I don't blame you.”

He snorted, laughing. “Great. That's wonderful. I do. I fucking do, so just drop it and go, okay? Go sleep in the other room with the girls because you shouldn't be here.”

She tugged on his coat, trying to get him to face her. “I don't want to be with them. I want to be with you.”

He stared at her. “Why?”

She knew the answer to that was complicated, and at least one part of it, he wouldn't want to hear. She didn't think he should be alone, and he had so much on him—his ability, his past, the fact that even if no one else said it—they had, though—they blamed him for his father coming after them, even if it wasn't his fault. She figured he'd see it as pity, and he'd hate it. This wasn't just pity, though. This was a lot more than that, all complicated and strange, and while she didn't know that she believed Taylor completely about them being soulmates, not when JD could easily have activated her and probably had, even if he didn't think he did, she was still attracted to him. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want her friends.

Friends. If she could even call them that. She wasn't sure what she had with the Heathers was really friendship, and Martha was probably the closest thing to one, and they were strangers.

She couldn't tell him any of that, so she drew him in for a kiss instead.

* * *

“Don't,” Taylor said, blocking Heather's path into the other room. She frowned at him, thinking she might just push through and wishing JD had activated Martha and not her so she could ask the other girl to push him out of the way, but then she saw past him and stopped.

“What's up with those two?” Heather asked. “Is it bad? Did he see more creepy stuff from the future?”

“More than likely,” Taylor admitted, casting a look back at them. “They've been up all night from what I can tell, but I finally went to sleep after she left in a huff. I don't know for sure.”

“You were up all night?” Martha asked with a wince. “You told us you wouldn't have to and that you were—”

“I don't have to be awake to keep tracking. I wasn't awake because of that. I was awake because JD and I haven't properly talked in a long time—technically ever because he's always had to forget—and he's worried about what to do about Bud Dean. Then she had questions about what I told him, and it was a long night for everyone.”

Heather could see that. She didn't think either JD or Veronica had slept, and Taylor hadn't, either, so they were down three people. “Are you going to teach us about how to use what we can do this morning? Do we have a plan for dealing with JD's father? Can we actually stop him?”

“The man is still human. He can be stopped.”

“Then why haven't you yet?”

“Collateral damage,” Taylor said. “Bud started giving JD orders to kill himself if we got close to eliminating him. Actually had to heal his fucking ass to save the kid once. My wife was not happy.”

Martha winced. Heather didn't like that Taylor was cursing like that. Adults tended not to do that around them, even if they were teenagers, and that meant things were bad, maybe worse than they knew. 

“What JD does,” Martha began, looking over at JD and Veronica. “Does it mean that if he activates someone they don't have a soulmate?”

Taylor stiffened. “Why would you assume that?”

“Because... how would you know if you do if you're already active?” Heather asked, now having doubts about herself. Did this mean she didn't have anyone? She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She hadn't liked any of the boys at her school or at Remington, but that didn't mean she wouldn't meet someone someday.

“Goddamn romance novels,” Taylor muttered, putting a hand to his head. “I really wish she was here right now, even if she's going to give me a good ass kicking when she sees me. Okay, look, contrary to popular belief, soulmates does not mean that you fall in an instant and everything is perfect for the rest of your life. Since I'm sick of using myself as an example—my cousin Sherry, she hates her soulmate. Has since she met him, and the fact that she got activated by that same person she despises? Oh, yeah, that went over real well. So she's not married, doesn't live in the same town... it's a mess. Get them together and they're powerful as hell but they fight like crazy and don't enjoy it. Sherry refuses to accept that's her fate. And she doesn't have to. I don't think my wife and I were fated so much as when things get hard, we have enough together to fight through it. It hasn't been easy, not all the time, but it was definitely worth it. At least to me. She'd probably tell you she doesn't know why she puts up with me. Especially after the new baby.”

“How many kids do you have?” McNamara asked, fighting a yawn.

“Eh... Two.”

“Why'd you say it like that?” McNamara asked, frowning. “Like... you weren't sure or something? Could she be pregnant again?”

“Um... no, but... we lost a few... it's complicated. Can we not talk about this, okay?”

“Okay,” Heather said. “How about we discuss how an asshole like Bud Dean could possibly have had a soulmate?”

* * *

“Okay, seriously, what the fuck is going on around here?” Heather demanded. Something was off this morning, and it wasn't because Veronica's creepy-ass boyfriend was still unconscious. He was awake and moving, more or less, since he was just holding onto her, rocking her in his arms and saying nothing. “Did someone die while I was sleeping? No, all of you losers are still here, so what the fuck?”

“Martha asked Taylor if what JD did meant that anyone he activated didn't have a soulmate or wouldn't know if they found them, and Taylor... went off on it for a bit,” McNamara said, giving Heather a look that bordered on pity. “It got pretty quiet after that, not that JD and Veronica were saying much even before then.”

Heather frowned. She wasn't sure she was the type of person who wanted any one man or anything in her life, but she didn't know what to think of having none at all. “So, wait, this little freak made it so I don't have a soulmate?”

“None of us knows that,” Taylor said, sounding like he hadn't slept at all last night. “Not about you. Not about anyone.”

“Anyone?”

“How can someone as twisted as Bud Dean have a soulmate?” Duke asked with a shudder.

“It's very likely if the man had one, they're already dead,” Taylor said, shaking his head. “I don't know about him. Or anyone else. My ability doesn't show that sort of thing unless it's already in existence and... active, like JD and Veronica over there. I can't track down your soulmate for you. And since you won't activate meeting one... you may not know it if you do. That kind of put a damper on things this morning, not that the rest of it was shiny and happy.”

Heather eyed the couple sitting to the side. Both of them looked like they'd been out all night partying... only it wasn't much of a party. No, they were more than hungover, though they both looked wrung out and tired. “Nightmares, seriously? Are you like... five?”

JD flipped her off. “If I could make you see what I see, I'd give you all the lovely images still rattling around in my brain where you die, bitch.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Those were... horrible, Heather. You have no idea,” Veronica whispered, and JD pulled her closer to him, leaning his head against hers.

Taylor rubbed his forehead. “Now that you are all awake, I suppose we could do that whole... remedial training thing... I mean, I'm not sure what I can actually tell you as mine is different and everyone just has to... work with theirs until they find something that...”

Heather watched him, frowning. “Taylor?”

“Sorry. Bud was on the move. He's not close. Doesn't know where we are, just... moving.”

“Oh, god. He's going to kill our families,” McNamara said, starting to freak out.

“Heather, calm down,” Heather ordered, refusing to panic or let any of the others do it. Not that she cared that much—Bud getting rid of her parents would probably be a favor, seeing as the only time they ever seemed to notice her was when she didn't go to her grandmother's on the weekend. “We don't know what he's doing.”

“Very true.”

“But we better have a damned plan for dealing with him.”

* * *

“That wasn't suspicious at all,” JD observed, taking out a cigarette and lighting it, leaning against the wall. Taylor looked at him, and he shrugged. “What? Bud never ordered me not to. It was a bit of freedom, so yeah, I do it. I'm not going to stop for you.”

“I wasn't about to suggest it.”

“Is he planning on killing their families to force our hand?”

Taylor gave him a look. “I don't get visions, kid. I get... other things. It's not like I see a flashing beacon of where he is, but I can follow him all the same. I don't know what he's up to. You'd have a better sense of that, but if you look down that rabbit hole, we could lose you again, and we really don't need to do that right now.”

JD grimaced, not really wanting to try and look into that. He still saw very little that was good, and it always went dark in the end. “You wanted to talk to me alone.”

“Yeah.”

“You're worried.”

“You know why,” Taylor said. “He's got you under orders, and for some reason those ones don't wear off. If he goes down, you go down, so any plan we make has to be sure that doesn't happen, much as I think the world might be a hell of a lot better off if Bud Dean is dead.”

“Holding onto Veronica seems to... to cut out whatever he might have ordered me to do. She brought me out of the... when I collapsed at Martha's house, she was able to pull me back from that. And when he ordered me not to activate anyone, Veronica had her hand on my back, and I still could. I did. I got Heather going, figuring she'd panic and silence everyone and we'd get out of there.”

“Good instincts.”

“Not entirely,” JD admitted, since he'd played a few scenarios out in his head before he went inside. “I... I can actually pick up on what people can do from a lot further away than I would have thought. I was outside of the house when I knew about Martha and the other two Heathers.”

“You're strong. You've always been strong. You're getting stronger.”

“Doesn't that mean I shouldn't be around Veronica any more? That I have to stop... whatever it is that meeting her has started?”

“If we're both right about what we suspect of her, you can't,” Taylor said. “She needs to be around you, to gain strength and control. She's going to have to be very, very strong to counter him. Right now, her ability to cancel out what he can do is touch based, but we know he won't let anyone close to him. She's got to have at least enough control to do this without physical proximity.”

“And then what? She just stops him and it's over?”

Taylor shook his head. “No. I don't think she's going to be the one to stop him. I think it has to be you.”

“I can't reverse what I can do,” JD said. Then he frowned. “Can I?”

“At this stage, no, I don't think so.”

“Which is why Veronica can do what she can. I made her so she could, right?”

“Veronica's abilities were already aligned to where she is. You know that. The potential is set at birth—before it, really, as it's all genetic and Meryl would have more explanation there than I do, but the point is, her abilities always rested along the path they have now. You may have sparked a specific one, but I doubt it. Remember, you were still under the orders when you met her. It wasn't until after you did that you were free enough to even interact with her, and did you remember anything about what you could do then?”

JD shook his head. “That only came back to me after... after the first time the future visions went dark on me.”

“So you didn't consciously activate her as a stop for him. Stop beating yourself up for it.”

JD glared at him. “Are you fucking kidding me? She's the hope you kept telling me I had, the one that your grandfather supposedly saw in his possibilities. It was always about her.”

“She's the start. She's not the end.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast proves difficult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um... I'll admit it. This was supposed to be about shameless JD/Veronica bonding.
> 
> It... kind of didn't go as planned.

* * *

“That table should do,” Taylor said, leading them to the round one in the corner of the diner that no one had yet to claim. He waited on the outside, letting the girls take the middle, and Martha didn't miss the dirty looks the Heathers gave her as they squeezed in. She knew she wouldn't fit, so she didn't bother trying, standing next to the booth like he was.

Veronica went in before JD, and he sat down but like he didn't even know where he was. Taylor frowned as he took the last spot on that side, and Martha had no choice but to take the other corner.

“So, do you have a plan beyond breakfast?” Chandler asked, looking over the menu in disgust. “If this even counts as food.”

“Don't knock it, princess. These joints are how I grew up to be the man I am,” Taylor said, and she just rolled her eyes.

Martha had to smile. She liked Taylor. He was funny and knew a lot about this, something that had always fascinated her, not that she wouldn't like anyone who put any of the Heathers in their place. She really wished that her friend was still the girl she used to know, and it wasn't like she hadn't seen signs of her in the last couple days, since this soulmate thing started with JD and Veronica.

Could it be like that forever? She doubted it. The Heathers would go back to being popular and perfect as soon as this was over, and it might even be worse, since Chandler and Duke now had abilities that no one else did.

In the hands of people like Heather Chandler, wasn't a superpower a very, very bad thing?

“I'm still waiting to hear how we're going to save everyone from that asshole,” Chandler said, shoving the menu across the table. “You have yet to say anything about that.”

“I've said plenty, just not what you're willing to hear,” Taylor said. He looked up at the waitress. “Three coffees and a bunch of orange juice for the babies over there. Oh, and a milk for Miss Martha.”

The waitress smiled at him, bustling off without confirming the order with the Heathers, which only pissed them off. Martha didn't mind the milk, though she thought it was strange he had chosen that for her instead of the other stuff.

“You're a dick. That coffee better be for me,” Chandler muttered, and Taylor just smiled at her. “It's not funny.”

“Oh, it is, and you just make it so easy,” he told her, still grinning. He looked over at the other Heathers. “And so do the rest of you. What is with the dour faces? It's breakfast. I swear, I'm going to order you a pancake face off the kiddie menu if you don't stop it.”

“You had better not,” Chandler said. “Bad enough I'm still in yesterday's clothes, we slept in a shithole last night, and now we're eating... here, but if you do that with the kiddie menu, I swear, I will poison your coffee.”

“No, you won't,” Veronica said, looking up from JD's coat which had been fascinating her up until now.

“I don't know,” Martha said. “Maybe it's stupid, but I always liked those pancakes. My parents made it a special treat, on Sundays, remember, Heather?”

“Yeah,” Heather said, looking down at her lap. “I do.”

“Enough nostalgia,” Chandler said. “What are we doing about Bud Dean?”

“One thing's for sure—we're not facing him with an empty stomach,” Taylor said with a grin. His smile fell when he looked over at JD, who hadn't said a thing or reacted to anyone since they came in. “Kid, you don't look so hot.”

JD leaned into Veronica, and Taylor swore. 

“Okay, buddy. Up and out. You need air.”

“What? You're running off on us again?”

Taylor leaned down to face Chandler. “You see how crowded this diner is? Now imagine you can not only pick up on everyone's potential ability but also their possible futures. He needs air and a few quick lessons on control. You stay. You eat. Veronica, you're with us.”

Martha watched them go, feeling sorry for JD.

“Guess there's a drawback to god powers,” Chandler said. “When that coffee comes, it's mine.”

* * *

“How bad is it?” Veronica asked, her eyes going to JD as she twisted her lip. She had noticed he got really quiet, but he had been all morning, all night, ever since she tried to ask him about activating her, and she knew he was upset, but he wasn't talking to anyone, not really. Maybe Taylor, a bit, but no one knew what they'd said when they were outside alone before they left the motel to go to the diner.

“He's definitely overloaded,” Taylor said. “I didn't think about it, though I should have because he told me he's got a decent range on his ability to see others' abilities, but I'd forgotten... stupid, really. Didn't I go off telling everyone how hard it was for me at first? I couldn't hardly think with the senses in my head, and his is worse. He's got two abilities trying to force feed his brain information.”

“I thought,” Veronica began, swallowing. “Isn't it... hasn't it been better when I'm touching him?”

Taylor gave her a smile as he stopped JD against the building. “Yes, and that is part of why you're here. Not that JD doesn't need to work on filtering things down to a manageable level, but you're going to get him closer to that faster than he can on his own, and he can't start to process things when he's like this. It takes a bit of a clear head to try and focus. Or it did for me. Listen to me, making myself sound like an expert again. I'm not.”

“Closest thing we've got to one,” Veronica told him. She looked at JD, who was still staring off into space. “Um... this doesn't seem to be working.”

“He's still overwhelmed. There's a lot of people here,” Taylor said. “Let's walk him back to the car. You two can sit in there for a bit.”

She followed along with him, helping JD to the car. Taylor opened the door and helped JD into the backseat. He leaned against the door.

“Okay, this is going to sound... wrong, and it's pretty inappropriate for me as the adult here to suggest, but given that you're touch based... get as close to him as possible, as much skin-to-skin contact as you can, and as much of you against him as possible in just... um... the general sense.” Taylor fidgeted. “I'm going to get some food because... I have to eat. The constant tracking is wearing me down. I'll be back in a bit. I can't help now anyway.”

Veronica swallowed. “Are you seriously telling me that I should get... naked with him in the backseat?”

“God, no,” Taylor said. “I just meant that the more you two can connect, the better it will be for him—and I say that knowing it might not be pleasant for you—and the quicker he'll come out of this. And... we need him to come out fast. If he's like this and Bud shows up...”

Veronica nodded. That scared her, and she wasn't about to let JD stay like this when she could help him. She climbed in with him, taking up a spot on his lap and leaning against him, trying to decide just how far she was willing to take this.

Taylor shut the door behind them, and she flinched.

“Skin-to-skin, hmm? Well... maybe we could take off your coat for starters,” she whispered, backing off and trying to lean him forward to pull it off his arms, one at time, as awkward as it was. She looked at his shirt. It was button down, which meant... she could open it, and that would help. “This is so... I swear, I am not molesting you in your... um... whatever this is.”

She had a feeling he'd laugh if he was aware of what was going on, but for now, she was just aware of how incredibly weird and wrong this was without him being there for any of it.

Would it be romantic if he was awake or still this awkward?

She undid the last of his buttons, opening his shirt and settling back down with her head against his chest, taking his hand in hers.

“I hope this works. You're starting to scare me now. I thought for sure you'd wake up before now,” she told him, leaning up and kissing his cheek. “I'd even take weird futures and horrible ones over this silence, okay? Come back to me. I'm sorry about what I said or didn't say last night. Just, please, come back to me.”

* * *

JD's head was throbbing. He couldn't think. He couldn't see. Everything was jumbled, like a thousand people in his head, and he wasn't even watching images, just like... other people were in there. He knew that didn't make sense. It couldn't. Didn't. He felt strange and awful, wanting to vomit and his head wanting to explode.

“Hurts...”

“Yeah, I know,” a voice said, and he tried to focus on it, but he couldn't. He could smell something. It was a bit like flowers. Why was he smelling flowers? He wasn't anywhere with flowers. He'd been at that shitty closed down motel with the girls, and it didn't smell good there, not at all. There was musty decay all over the place, dirty from disuse.  
Dead plants, too. Chandler had killed any plant she came across, and that smelled, too.

“Can't... it's too... much...”

“I uncovered as much of your skin as I was comfortable with, I swear. Even this much seems wrong, but Taylor said it would help, so I tried, but it's just... so weird to do this without you... um... with me. Now you are, sort of, but it's like you're looking through me while I'm sitting here, and that's still awkward.”

“What?” He frowned, his head still aching, and he blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. What was he seeing, anyway? Okay... green. Green? Why the fuck was everything green?

He felt a hand on his cheek, and someone's nose brushed his, and he saw eyes this time.

“That's better. I think you're finally with me now.”

“Veronica?”

She pulled back, nodding to him. “I'm here. I... you got all... spaced out in the diner. Taylor said everyone being around you overwhelmed you, so we took you outside. It wasn't enough just to sit there beside the building, so he told me to sit with you here. Um... and to touch you as much as possible.”

“What?”

“My ability is touch based, remember? So... he thought the more I could touch you, the faster I'd bring you back.”

“I... Okay.” He wasn't sure he believed that. “Um... if Taylor... was lying to you... you going to kill him? Because... I think you might.”

She laughed, leaning her head against his chest. “He was so embarrassed by it I don't think he was joking or that he wanted to say it. He also left as soon as possible, so I don't think he really wanted to do it as a prank. Remember before, when I touched you and I could see the stuff you were seeing and you came around but I didn't?”

JD nodded. “I do, but that doesn't—this was different. I don't remember any... futures. I didn't see anything. Not even the darkness I saw last time. It's not like it was. It was like... people. In my head. Not moments. People. That sounds fucking crazy.”

“Taylor thought it was your ability to sense people's abilities that was the problem this time. You haven't been around this many people since it showed itself.”

He winced. “I have, actually. I mean... I...”

“What?”

He lowered his head. Shit, why had he said that? He wasn't going to tell her about that, not that—did she already know? Taylor could have told her. “This thing... the activation... it's what I was born with. I could do it from the start. It's always been there.”

She looked up at him. “I'd forgotten Taylor said that. Something about a hospital that was never the same?”

“I don't... I don't remember that. I think... that was when I... Taylor said I reached out unconsciously... that when I was in a coma I was... I was so desperate and panicked I... I did stuff I shouldn't have. I don't know. I don't remember it.”

She sat up, putting both of her hands on his face. “Even if you did, you shouldn't blame yourself for that. It's not like... you weren't in control of it.”

“Yeah, and that's better? It's not okay. What happens if I do it again?”

“You won't. We're going to get you control. And me control. Everyone will have control. We've only barely started on that.” She reached her hand up and into his hair, combing through it. “We haven't... we barely know anything right now. There's so much I want to know, not just about abilities but... about you.”

“About me? Why the fuck would you want to know about—”

She kissed him, and damned if that didn't feel good. He could do that forever, never let her go. He started to shift their positions, get her down on the seat and—no. No, they were not doing that. He couldn't. Well, he could, a part of him really wanted to, but he couldn't. They were in public, for fuck's sake, and even if they weren't, what if they went too far and it did something like... like what happened to his parents?

No. Not again.

“JD?”

He sat back, shaking his head. “We... this is... awkward.”

“Yeah,” she said, pulling down her shirt. “Not bad, just... we shouldn't do this here. Even if it looks like I was trying to get you naked. I wasn't. I swear I wasn't.”

“You're cute when you're flustered.”

“And you're sexy when you're smug, but that's not fair because you're being an ass.”

He laughed. “I am not being an ass. I was—I was the one that stopped us, remember? If I was being so damned smug, I'd just have pushed that a lot further than I did. You are the one who started this with the undressing—I know I didn't unbutton my shirt and so if someone is going to be—”

“Shut up,” she said, smacking him. “You're being an idiot.”

“You want me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Like you don't want me. Or like this isn't... It's weird. It's not just about us being teenagers and wanting to bone on our neighbor's porch swing or something. We're supposed to be soulmates. And this all started because you got overwhelmed and needed me to calm you, which makes this thing between us... even more complicated. We can learn to control it. Them. Our abilities, I mean.”

“I don't think we have time for that. Bud is out there, and he's not going to stop just because he couldn't find me for a night. We're not... it's safe.”

“You're not seriously thinking of going back to him, are you?”

“It buys you time.”

“No. Not at the cost of you. Never at the cost of you, JD. That is not an option.”

“If it's a choice of me versus everyone else that Bud can hurt, it's a simple equation. If Taylor wasn't so damned focused on saving me, this would already be over. And it should be. It should.” JD was to blame for all of it. He'd given Bud the ability to control others, and in doing so, he'd doomed everyone. People were already dead because of him, and more would die. Who knew how many others he'd driven insane or something by activating them?

“No one deserves that,” she insisted. “There has to be another way.”

“I don't think there is.”

“There is,” she said. “Look at me. You were... We were out here. And you were overwhelmed, and I was touching you but it didn't take me under like it did before. Maybe... maybe that means I'm getting control, and if I have it, if I can really stop people with what I can do, then we can stop him.”

“No. You... can't. That's not—you can't—can't lose you to him, either.”

“Then why am I supposed to be okay with losing you?”

“Because... I did it. It was me. All me.”

“What?”

“I gave Bud his ability. Everything else... it's my fault. Because I started him.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's more talking. And some eating. Mostly talking. And arguing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had such a hard time working on this story this week. My crossover has really taken over my limited brain capacity of late thanks to work, and the migraines I kept getting weren't helping, either. I couldn't focus enough on this one where the story was difficult to come by and so I stuck to the easy one as I tried to muddle through my week.
> 
> I failed, miserably, this week. Ugh.

* * *

“You started Bud?” Veronica asked, staring at JD in disbelief. She knew he could have, that was not the problem. She knew he had that ability, they all did. It seemed crazy to think that it even existed, but he'd proved it with Heather Chandler and Heather Duke, so they all knew it was real.

In a way, knowing that he was that powerful made him more appealing—and more frightening. Knowing what he could do had confused her. She'd been sure she wasn't his soulmate and he'd even made her to stop his dad.

He'd told her hadn't, and he'd been so upset that she did believe him. If he had done it, and she still worried a bit that he had, he hadn't done it on purpose. Back when they met, he'd been under his father's orders and didn't remember what he could do, so it couldn't have been intentional.

Still, he had done something when he was in a coma, and how much control could he have had then? None at all, right?

“Please. Like it hasn't been staring everyone in the face the entire time. How many times did people ask how Bud could have had a soulmate? He doesn't. He never did. He was just the man my mom shacked up with and she had one hell of a freak for a son.”

Veronica shook her head. Sure, she had wondered how Bud could have an ability, and none of them believed that he had a soulmate. That didn't mean she'd thought that JD had done that.

“Why would you activate him?”

“Does it even matter? I did.”

She didn't know how to react to that. She was still mostly in shock.

Still, she knew he wasn't lying. He'd done it. He wouldn't say it if it wasn't true, and he'd kept it a secret for this long, so she had to believe that he was afraid to tell her, making it all the more true, but then... why say it now?

“I think the why matters,” she said, swallowing. She needed to know why because if it was another accident, then it was... okay. It wasn't like he could be blamed for all of what Bud did, though if she knew the Heathers at all, most of them—well, McNamara was the exception as she was usually kinder and yet she'd always go along with the others—would definitely believe all of this was his fault.

“No, it doesn't,” JD snapped, reaching for the door handle and getting out of the car. He didn't bother slamming it shut behind him, and it took her a minute to realize what he'd done and that she had to move.

She crawled across the seat, feeling her rumpled clothes and the whole awkwardness of everything that had passed between them in the car again. She stood, her legs a little shaky under her, and went over to him.

She took out a cigarette and held it out to him, thinking he might need it. He looked down at it and then at her.

“It doesn't matter,” he repeated, and she shook her head again, wishing she could make him see that without making this worse. “I started him. Everyone he's ever hurt, all those people he killed... that's on me.”

She winced. “You only gave him the ability. You didn't choose what he did with it.”

“I gave a monster the ability to control everyone. What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you think that was acceptable? Ever? Screw that. And you. I'm done here.”

“What?”

He didn't turn around, didn't offer an explanation, though she could have guessed at it, since he'd already said it more than once. He was going to turn himself over to his father to end it.

“You can't do that,” she said, running after him. “You can't give him what he wants. It doesn't matter if you started him or—”

“Really? It doesn't matter? It doesn't sicken you to know that I'm responsible for that bastard running around giving people orders to kill themselves? To know that he used that to kill my mother right in front of me? He did all of that, Veronica. And you can't ignore that or cover it up. All of this is my fault.”

“It's not that simple, and even if it was, giving him you is no solution,” she said. “Why can't you see that, at least? You made the monster, fine, but if you go back—”

“Then he plays out this stupid obsession with me and leaves the rest of you alone. You win. Take it for what it is and forget everything else. You sure as hell don't need me in your life.”

“That is not—”

“We're not soulmates, remember? I activated you. It looked like more than it was because I can do what I can, but it wasn't love and it's not now so forget it and leave me alone.”

“JD—”

“I'm a teenage boy,” he said, this time facing her. “I wanted what any other guy wants from you. That's it. That's all. Maybe doing what I did made it so I was free to actually _enjoy_ sex, but that's it. I used you, and I could have done a lot worse, so get mad. Be pissed off, but stop following me because this isn't what you think it is.”

“You bastard,” she said, wanting to hit him. He turned away again, and she didn't stop him. 

She wanted to, to go after him and hurt him, beat on him until he apologized or said any of that as a lie. It had to be a lie. This thing between them wasn't just about him using her. She was more than that. He was better than that.

Only he'd given power to a monster and there was a part of her, however wrong, that did blame him for that no matter how much she tried not to.

And with him treating her like he had, it was winning.

* * *

“Why milk?”

Taylor gave her a tired smile, looking up from his food. “It seemed fitting.”

Martha frowned, still not sure where that was coming from. “Why would it be fitting?”

“Because you're a cow,” Heather Chandler said, and she felt sick. Taylor had seemed nice to her. That wasn't what he really thought about her, was it?

“You're strong,” he disagreed, “and even if you were the slightest bit bovine, I think that's preferable to being a heinous bitch. Poison Ivy only seems appealing on the surface. All she has is the fact that her body's crudely drawn with little clothing and a bunch of pheromones to make people do what she wants. No friends. No one that cares about her.”

“I have people that care about me,” Chandler said, rolling her eyes.

“Bullshit,” Taylor said. “They're afraid of you, and fear is not friendship. You're sad and lonely and probably been putting out a bit much just to feel wanted. That's the thing that underscores everything about you—underneath the act, you're insecure and lost, but you pretend you're fine and put everyone else down because you're really not.”

Chandler glared at him. “You don't know—”

“I know much more than I want to,” he disagreed. He turned his attention back to his food. After chewing down a few bites, he sipped from his coffee. “Why am I the only one eating? We do have to keep our strength up and everything. I know I need a lot more than this. I should be eating three times the amount of calories. Just... not very hungry at the moment.”

“Is something wrong?” Martha asked, and he shook his head, going back to the food.

“Of course something is wrong,” Chandler said. “There's a psycho on the loose who can order people to do anything he wants them to do and we can't do shit about it. You are such a moron.”

“Stop it, Heather,” Duke said, and Martha frowned, surprised to hear her defending her. “You know she meant something else, not just the crisis we already know about.”

“Oh, please. You are so—” Chandler kept on talking, but Martha couldn't hear anything. She watched her lips move in confusion for a few minutes before turning to see the smirk on Duke's face.

Still smiling, Duke turned to her food and started eating like she hadn't had anything to eat in days, the smile never leaving her face as she practically bounced in her seat.

“Liberation is a funny feeling,” Taylor observed, and Martha frowned. She could still hear him, just not Chandler.

“Wait, you have that much control now?” Martha asked. “You can keep one specific person from speaking?”

“Well... no,” Duke began. “I mean, that was the test. Right now. And it worked, but I didn't know that it would. It's the first time it has.”

“It's progress,” Taylor said. “And a good sign, I think.”

“What about JD and Veronica?”

“Not such a good sign.”

* * *

“I know I don't really have to ask this, but where did he go?” Taylor asked, coming up behind Veronica. 

She bit her lip, not wanting to answer. She'd stood here since JD took off on her, and she didn't know what else to do. By now it was too late to go after him, and it didn't make any sense to leave without Taylor to tell her where the hell to go or the keys to the car.

“Seriously? We let Dead Zone go? Why the fuck did you let him leave?” Chandler demanded. “This is his fault, his dad wants him, and you just let him leave?”

Veronica put her hand to her head. She couldn't really explain it. She had been hurt and still reeling from the revelation he'd dumped on her, and she'd been so conflicted she couldn't decide what to do, and by the time she had made up her mind that she really was going to stop him and was very nearly sure that JD had said most of that to make her angry so she wouldn't, it was too late.

“He told you,” Taylor said, and Veronica nodded, feeling sick all over again.

“Told her what?” Duke asked. “And don't say nothing. We deserve to know what's going on.”

“I would really like to go home and make sure my mom is okay,” McNamara said. “Can we do that, too, before it gets any later? I don't—we should have let our families know we were safe. That's what I really want to know—if my family is safe.”

“I'd tell you if I had any sense of your mother, but I don't,” Taylor said. “We'll have to make some calls, and it might even be safe enough for you four to go home, to leave or at least make those phone calls. The rest of us are going to be needed elsewhere.”

“Oh, nice. Excluding us again,” Chandler said. “You're a dick, and Duke, if you silence me again, I will give you at least a rash if not—”

“JD went to give himself to Bud,” Veronica said. It sounded strange to say it out loud, but it was what happened and Chandler needed to shut up. Now.

“What?” Martha asked. “Why would he do that?”

“He said it was simple math. One of him for freedom for everyone else. His father gets him back, and he leaves the rest of you alone.”

“He doesn't know that,” McNamara said. “What if his dad takes him and gets what he wants and still hurts us?”

“That's actually the more likely scenario, aside from Bud getting what he wants from JD,” Taylor said. “Something about the commands and the way they override his freewill and brain function makes it impossible for him to do what his father wants with his ability. He can't give anyone powers under Bud's control... well, aside from a coma incident that even Meryl can't explain.”

“So... wait, the entire time he's been doing this shit to keep control of his son, it's been useless?” Chandler asked. “Why doesn't he—does he know that? Why not tell him and end it?”

“Bud won't accept that. He still believes JD can give him more power. And for someone as power hungry as Bud is, he won't accept anything else.”

“Can he make JD do it somehow?” Martha asked. “Is there a way around the way their abilities interact?”

“Oh, there are thousands of little ways around the orders, as I've already mentioned. JD's an expert at finding them, and now he remembers that,” Taylor said. “He wouldn't find one now, not when he refuses to give Bud anything, but that doesn't save him from orders that will hurt him or the rest of us. And if one of them happens...”

“He'll kill Veronica,” McNamara said, and Taylor looked at her, concerned. “It's what he told JD he'd make him do first when he was at my house. He was going to make JD kill his soulmate.”

“JD doesn't believe I'm his soulmate.”

“That's the guilt talking. He doesn't believe he deserves one, that's different,” Taylor said. “And he absolutely _cannot_ kill you. He can't hurt you. That's not... that can't happen.”

“It's nice to know she's so important to you,” Chandler scoffed. “Are you sure you're married?”

“It's not about that,” Taylor said. “I told you—people who lose a soulmate react very, very badly. In romance novels, they always die together, right? Well, that's the sanitized version of it. It can drive you completely insane to lose a soulmate. It did JD's mother, which is how he ended up trapped with Bud Dean.”

“Then why would you have us separate?” Duke asked. “I thought you needed me, and if I can actually silence one person at a time, then I can do it to him and keep everyone safe.”

“That's a lot of responsibility,” Taylor said. “And... frankly, I don't want to risk it.”

“Nice. You're really a jerk, aren't you?”

He shook his head. “It's not about faith in her abilities. It's...”

“You think they won't want to help if they know,” Veronica said. “And maybe they won't, but maybe they have to know. Like I had to... I just wish I'd been able to... to get over myself a lot faster.”

“What are you talking about, Veronica?”

Veronica ignored the question, focusing on Taylor. “How old was he? When he did it... how old was he?”

“A baby, I believe. I'm almost certain he did it before I even met him,” Taylor said. “I... When I found Tricia and she had the baby, I... I sensed something in him. It was... fear. Strong and overwhelming. He was terrified of himself, and her fear only fed into that.”

Veronica gagged. “A baby. He... he didn't know. He couldn't know...”

“He only knew he was scared and someone had to stop him.”

“Oh, God.”

Taylor sighed. “He never deserved all of this. I... Sometimes I get so mad at her. If she'd stayed with us, we'd have been able to help. I could tell he was scared, but she wouldn't even accept that. She ignored it and chose a man she knew was no good over her family.”

“What are you two talking about?” Chandler demanded. “You just said we should know and yet you don't actually tell us anything—”

“No one wants to tell you anything,” Martha said. “The one they're really worried about is you. You're not very nice anyway, but how would you really react when you knew JD accidentally activated his father as a baby?”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are discussed, a few other details revealed, and someone is in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I think this is finally getting where it needs to be, though it's not super fast about it. Bud remains a complete creep, though.

* * *

“You're fucking kidding,” Chandler said. “He started that asshole when he was a baby?”

Taylor sighed. “He didn't know. Tricia was out of her head while she was carrying him, way too damned young and losing Micheal the way she did... It was traumatic, it was something no one should have had to see, but Micheal was... He was a kid himself, not much older than she was, and he lost control of what he could do. It was... a tragedy all around, but she made it so much worse when she realized she was pregnant. She thought we'd force her to abort after what Michael almost did, but it wasn't true. She left with Bud Dean, and he was no good from the start, so her fear just increased, and by the time that child was born, all his little mind knew was fear. He had no comprehension of what he was doing. He acted on instinct like all babies do, and he put himself under someone else's control so he could never be what she feared, what he feared.”

“That is so messed up,” Duke said, shaking her head.

“It's sad,” Heather said. She couldn't believe how sad it was. Chandler was probably angry, but she felt so bad about all of this. How could anyone think that was anything but what Taylor called it? It was so tragic. She wanted to cry.

Chandler folded her arms over her chest. “How is that even possible? He was just a baby.”

Taylor looked away from them. “When I first found Tricia again, she'd had the baby and I could tell he had an active ability. It's rare to be born with one. As far as I know, he's the only one that has been. He's fourth generation on both sides, so he's strong as hell, but seeing as he was born here in Sherwood—”

“What?” Veronica asked, frowning. “You never said that before.”

“It wasn't relevant at the time,” Taylor said. “There's a lot of history, and you ask questions, and I can't tell every detail. We don't have time for that, unfortunately. What I know—what my family knows—would fill volumes. More than that if you let Meryl talk at all. Which you shouldn't, ever.”

“Shouldn't we be more focused on getting him back anyway? I mean, he did just go to turn himself over to his dad,” Duke said. “Wait. Bud isn't his dad?”

“Oh, no.” Taylor said. “No, JD's biological father was a Woods. Bud is his father on paper, and he may or may not see himself as the boy's father even if he had suspicions otherwise. I'm not sure it made much difference in how he treated him as JD is only a step to power for him, but that's also not that important now.”

“Why would anyone be so afraid of him being able to start people's abilities?” Martha asked. “He would have to choose to do it, right? So he's not that big of a threat, even if his ability might seem to give him god-like power.”

Taylor grimaced. “Tricia wasn't afraid of him having that. My family and Micheal's wasn't worried about that, either. It... If he inherited Micheal's ability, then we all had something to worry about. Only there's no guarantee that he would, and by all accounts, he didn't. Tricia didn't know, but her fear of it, of losing her son to the thing that stole Micheal from her... she was lost. She was convinced that we were so afraid of JD's ability becoming his father's that we'd make her get rid of him. She was... unbalanced at that point. Her age, her grief, her pregnancy... It was a mess.”

“Why would anyone be so sure that he'd have this scary unknown ability?”

Taylor grimaced. “Well, he's fourth generation on both sides. Before JD, that was unheard of. Sure, we have some large, extended families that have branched out and all of them have soulmates, but he's still the first that was born of a combination like that where both sides had multiple generations of abilities running through them. He has an ability that is also unheard of in any of our lines. Some have repeated themselves before, and even now... I mean, JD has Grandfather's ability to look at future possibilities, so it wasn't completely impossible, but he's not... he's not what his mother was terrified he was and he didn't deserve any of this.”

“Of course not,” Heather said. “How are we going to help him? And how do we make sure our families are safe?”

“Well, it is very likely that Bud will lose his interest in being here if he gets JD back. He may be vindictive at times, but I think he knows it would be better to cut his losses if he does.”

Duke folded her arms over her chest. “Can he afford to do that? We all know what he can do and can tell people that.”

Taylor laughed. “Oh, do you now? And who the hell is going to believe you?”

“The—oh.”

“Exactly. The cops won't buy it, and it's very likely if they even spoke to him about it, he'd have JD under orders to lie about it and would easily stop them from looking further,” Taylor said. “No, I'm afraid it's up to us.”

Chandler looked pissed. “Then what the hell is our plan?”

* * *

“I think the simplest way of doing things is find JD and stop him from reaching his—Bud,” Martha began, and the others looked at her. She grimaced and turned to Taylor. “Isn't it?”

“Yes, in its purest, easiest form, we save him by stopping him from getting to Bud, and then Bud can't put him under orders again, and we regroup to find an actual counter to Bud,” Taylor said, letting out a breath. “Now exactly what that is... it's difficult to say.”

“I don't think it is,” Martha said. “Half the reason you haven't just stopped Bud before isn't—you think that JD has to be the one to do it, don't you? That he started him so he can stop him.”

Veronica winced. “Can he even do that? We haven't seen any sign that he could.”

“Well, that's the thing,” Taylor said, grimacing. “We don't know that he can, but we also don't know that he can't. With the amount of advancement he's shown in what he can do since he's been here, it's still a very good possibility that he can, but he may not be there yet.”

“Isn't this all pointless if Bud does have Dead Zone and he's back under orders?” Chandler asked. “How are we supposed to deal with that? And... why not just use what I can do to kill the bastard?”

“You want that on your conscience?”

“Fuck me with a chainsaw. I'm not Mother Theresa here,” Chandler said. “I don't see why none of you did it before.”

“I told you—conditional orders. Bud had JD under ones where if he died, the boy died, too.”

“And he's worth keeping alive?” Chandler demanded. “That worth it, worth Bud Dean? Not only did he start that bastard, but you kept him alive so that you could save your cousin—don't you get it? He has it right. Him for everyone. A perfect little bit of karma or some bullshit like that.”

Veronica shook her head. “Think about it, Heather. If JD can start people, but he can also stop them, what if... what if there were others like Bud? He could stop them, too. He's more valuable alive in the long run.”

“We don't even know that he'd be needed for it.”

“Actually,” Taylor said, his words sending fear deep into Martha's stomach, “we do.”

“No,” Chandler said. “There's no way—you're using that to justify keeping him alive because all of you screwed up before, but he is not that necessary.” 

“There are people who abuse what they can do,” Taylor said, grim. “It's the same with any power, as you've already seen. Some people, in love or not, use their abilities to hurt and destroy. There's one particularly fun asshole who can go invisible and likes to kill people that way. I can track him, but I can't fight him. I had to stop showing up where he was because they started thinking I was killing people.”

Duke frowned. “Isn't there some other way to stop people like that?”

“So far as I know? No. Conventional law doesn't have any room in it for people like us. Officially, we don't exist, so how can they possibly police us? How can they stop what they can't see or have no comprehension of?” Taylor asked. “I'm not saying it's fair to expect someone like JD to be that police force, but abilities like his are rare, as I've already told you. He's the only one that has one to start someone.”

“Not the only one who can stop someone, though,” Duke said, watching him. “Or... is he? Seriously, he's all that stands between anyone bad with powers and the rest of the world?”

“Now do you see why we had to keep him alive?”

“Okay, but why the hell didn't you tell him that?” Veronica said. “Not that... he won't want the responsibility and it would scare the hell out of him, but right now, all he sees is the guilt, that he started Bud and others have suffered because of it. He thinks he's as much of a monster as Bud is, and that's not true. At least... as horrible as this is, he'd understand that he's needed for more. He wouldn't have left, wouldn't have thought that trading himself was an acceptable option.”

Taylor sighed. “I didn't want to burden him more than I already have. You didn't—you don't know what it's like for him knowing that he started Bud. You see it from the outside, but I've seen it deeper than that. It was too much to put on a kid, and it still is. He's too damaged to hear 'only hope' and not want to jump off the next cliff.”

“I think the dick has a point, as much as I hate to agree with him about anything,” Chandler said. “Still, we're royally fucked because he's already gone to him, hasn't he? That's why you said that this was the simple solution. The real plan doesn't exist because he's already in Bud's hands.”

“Um... yes. Unfortunately.”

* * *

“I didn't think you'd wander off alone.”

JD stopped, that voice sending his heart into his stomach. He was going to be sick, and he hadn't even seen Bud. He hadn't actually known where he was going other than away from the others—he could have gone to the rental Bud had picked, but he hadn't actually thought the man would be there, though it was about the only place they knew in common besides the school.

It would have made sense.

He didn't actually know that he had made sense. He'd just had to get himself away from Veronica, and he'd thought about ending things by going back to his dad—damn it, Bud was not his father, and he knew that.

He'd just figured on clearing his head and making some kind of a plan. Bud could order him not to do anything, but seeing as the bastard would want to punish him, JD kind of thought if he had a knife, he'd still be close enough to do damage even if the order was to stand still or something. He hadn't actually been able to think clearly before, not really, so this time going back to Bud was different. He could do a lot of things he hadn't been able to before.

Hell, if he'd really been thinking, he'd have rigged the damn house to explode with both of them in it. That would have solved everyone's problems.

“How did you find me?” JD asked, turning around to face him. “I don't even know where I am.”

Bud adjusted the mirror on his car. “I knew that you wouldn't come back to me, not if you figured you were finally free. I did figure sooner or later those girls would get stupid and go home.”

JD looked around them. He didn't recognize this neighborhood. “This is one of their houses?”

“Belongs to the one in green. Her I have other reasons to see suffer.”

JD swallowed, hating the taste of bile in his throat. “You found me. You don't have to do anything to anyone else.”

“And since when do you give a fuck about anyone but yourself, Jason?”

“I don't, and don't call me Jason.”

“I'll call you whatever the hell I want,” Bud said. “You're my son.”

“Actually, no, she lied about that. My real father died before I was born. You're not a father. You're nothing close to it.”

“You almost sound like someone's been feeding you lies again. Is that true? Is he here?”

Shit. JD had forgotten he wasn't supposed to know about his dad or any of the other stuff Taylor told him. He'd been under orders. Bud didn't want him knowing that stuff. He assumed Taylor was here, feeding it to him again.

“No, I was the only boy at that particular orgy,” JD said instead, taking out a cigarette and lighting it up, blowing smoke toward Bud to piss him off. “Was kind of fun. I should make more girls with powers for my own harem.”

“You're such a little shit,” Bud said, shaking his head. “And I doubt you did anything with them. You're too much of a pussy for that.”

JD flipped him off. “Screw you.”

Bud just laughed. “Who's to say you haven't?”

“What? You're sick, saying that. You wouldn't even—”

“You just said you weren't my son. And I could have ordered you to do anything and then forget. Haven't you ever wondered if I did? Oh, I suppose not. I wouldn't have let you, but I will now. I like how pale you've gotten,” Bud said with a cruel smile. “Your bravado is all used up and gone.” 

JD gagged, but he refused to believe that. It was possible, but Bud was just saying it to screw with his head. He wouldn't have done that—though JD was pretty sure he'd ordered women into—No. He couldn't think about that. He had to get out of here, had to get away. 

He wasn't ready for this. He couldn't do it, couldn't stop Bud. If he ran now, he might still have a chance. He had to do it.

He looked around again, trying to find the best place to run before he started, somewhere loud would be better, somewhere that he wouldn't hear Bud's command that was sure to come any second now. Why the fuck wasn't someone mowing their lawn when he needed them to? Or something, anything else?

Screw it. He had to go anyway.

“Get in the car.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An abuction, a bad plan, and an attempt at rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... did not end where I thought it would. I thought it was going to do more, and then I was halfway through the scene and it was not right and so I cut part of it, and it ends here instead of at that nagging line I mentioned before that is still not here.
> 
> I also had to write a lot of action which is not my strongest thing when it comes to writing, so... um... yeah.

* * *

“Get in the car.”

JD grimaced, but he couldn't fight the order, crossing around to get in on the passenger side. He opened the door and sat down in the seat, shaking as he tried and failed to fight the command he'd just been given.

“Shut the door. Lock it. Buckle yourself in. And don't open it. No jumping out once we're in traffic.”

“Where are you taking me?” JD asked as he did everything he was told. The door shut. He locked it. He buckled himself in, looking over at Bud, wondering when the order to stop talking would come. Had to be soon, right?

“Away from here,” Bud said as he started the car, pulling away from the curb fast enough to leave tire marks. JD winced, wishing he hadn't been ordered not to open the door. Wait. He hadn't been given orders about the window. Or not unbuckling himself.

“No lame ass music this time?” JD asked, needing a distraction for Bud if he was going to do this. The second he heard the click from the seatbelt, it was over, same with if he noticed the window going down. He had to do it quick and without Bud noticing, or he'd be screwed. He might be able to get the seatbelt first and the window separately. That was an option, as long as Bud didn't hear him do it.

Or maybe... He dug into his pocket and took out a cigarette, lighting it up. He took a few drags and then rolled down the window, flicking out the ash.

“Did I give you permission for that?”

“No,” JD said. “You also didn't answer about the music, so...”

“You still think you can mouth off to me?”

“As long as you didn't order me not to, fuck yes,” JD said, making a point to blow the smoke at him that time. He rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window. A little bit more. He could do this. He just needed a noise to mask the seatbelt, and he'd make his move.

“Maybe I don't want music. Maybe I'd like to make you picture those things that revolt you so much. I could, you know. I could tell you to fantasize about it, about you giving me head here in this car while I drive...”

“You are so fucking sick,” JD said. Bud's taunt worked. He wanted to puke, and his traitorous mind was wondering if he had ever done that before and forgotten it because he'd been ordered to. He wouldn't have found the loophole for that. He wouldn't want to remember.

Bud smiled and leaned over to turn on the radio, punching in the cassette. Bruce Springsteen blared out of the speakers, talking about having a bad desire. JD used to like that song, but now he really was going to puke. Sick bastard. He reached down for the buckle, pretending to ignore Bud and focus on his cigarette, timing the click for one of the song's louder moments.

As soon as his belt was loose, he forced himself up and out the window, ignoring the pain from the awkward exit and jumping out. He hit hard and rolled to a stop, grimacing. He heard the brakes screech and got to his feet, stumbling away from the road.

“Jason, get back here _now,”_ Bud bellowed, and JD swore as he felt himself stop, turning back to obey. He couldn't believe he was doing this, and he scrambled for a loophole but couldn't find one before he was back next to Bud again.

Bud slammed him against the car. “What did you think you were doing there? You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“Like you care.”

“You know I don't intend to let you die,” Bud said, yanking on the door. He swore when he realized it was unlocked, and JD laughed, shaking his head as he started to walk away again. “Stop. Don't move.”

Fuck. He hated this. No matter what he did, he always seemed to end up back here, like this, trapped by orders and unable to do anything.

He could have run. He could have gotten far away from Bud this time. He should have.

“Get in the car. Sit down, buckle up, and don't get out again until I tell you to.”

JD shuddered, doing as he was told, again. He looked over at Bud, who was barely containing his anger. When they got wherever they were going, it was going to hurt. A lot. He didn't even want to think about how, not with the way Bud had been taunting him.

“You are such a pain in the ass.” Bud peeled out again, moving them into faster traffic, pushing well past the limit in his haste. “Should order you to do something really nasty to yourself. Just have to decide what first.”

“You wouldn't even be able to do that if not for me.”

“Oh, so you did lie,” Bud said, looking over at him. “Taylor is here, isn't he?”

“Uh, idiot, you told me what I could do back when we were at McNamara's house and you tried to order me not to give them any powers but then Duke could silence you and did. That was one of the greatest moments of my life, actually.”

“Don't expect that to work again,” Bud told him. “You will pay for this.”

“What can you actually do to me?” JD asked. “You want me alive. So you can't kill me, and according to you, you've already done the worst, right? What do you really expect me to be afraid of? You? I'm not. I hate you, but I'm not afraid.”

“You will be.”

* * *

“Okay, so... let me get this straight,” Heather said, not sure why she always had to ask the dick about any of this. Taylor did nothing but irritate her, and she hated having to rely on him for any of it. “Your plan is to crash our car into his to stop him?”

“This is not about being polite,” Taylor said, speeding up and passing another car. “Bud has an advantage over us, a headstart, and we can't afford to let him have that. He can do just about anything to JD while he's got him, and if he makes the boy forget what he can do and how much control he's gained over it, we're screwed. So, yes, I plan to stop his car by whatever means necessary, and as I don't have a badge or sirens, my little rent-a-wreck is going to have to do.”

“This is a rental?” Duke asked, frowning.

“That is so not important,” Heather snapped. “The point is he's risking all of our lives to do this.”

“You could have stayed back in town,” Martha reminded her. “No one said you had to come. Taylor gave you the option of staying more than once.”

“I owe that bastard, and all Duke can do is silence him. Taylor over there can track him, but I'm the only one with an offensive ability. You need me, and you know it.” She felt a bit proud at that. She was needed. This wasn't about fear, no. This was about them needing someone who could actually fight that asshole.

“We aren't necessarily going to kill him,” McNamara said. “We just want to get JD away from him so he can take the ability away and the guy won't be a threat anymore.”

“He's still going to be a threat,” Heather said. “Just a normal one. And he will still go after Dead Zone, especially if he takes it away this time.”

Veronica flinched. “Heather, we are not murderers. We are trying to stop one. We can't do it by becoming murderers ourselves. Maybe we have to, but only if there's no other way. We're glad you came along, but please stop arguing about the plan. We all know it's shit, but we also don't have any others, so we have to do this. And I think the strain of tracking, arguing, and driving is a bit much for Taylor, so... let's just... not.”

“It's not a crime to be sure we're ready for this,” Heather said, though when she looked at Taylor, she could see Veronica was right. He was definitely not at his best, looking kind of hungover even though they knew he hadn't been drinking.

“The plan is, we hit his car to stop him. I make it so Bud can't give any orders. We get JD, and we leave,” Duke said. “It's not perfect, but it's our plan.”

“How are we supposed to get away if the car gets wrecked when we do this?”

“Run if we have to,” McNamara said. “The main thing is getting the only weapon we have against Bud out of his control.”

“I do plan on trying to make the divider do most of the work. A good impact against the concrete on the driver's side should help us significantly,” Taylor said. “He's probably driving in the left lane and that will make it easier.”

“Really?”

“Must you argue every damned point?” Taylor demanded. “You nag worse than my wife, and she can browbeat me with a look.”

“And you love this woman?”

“Don't think that's a sign I'm interested in you,” he muttered. “I am just... the more I talk about my wife, the more I feel like she'll find me in time.”

“Find you in time?”

“I told you,” Veronica whispered. “He's pushing too hard right now.”

* * *

She didn't have to touch Taylor to know that he was struggling, and she didn't know how the others weren't seeing it, but she could almost feel it. She could feel a lot of things, like Duke fidgeting and playing with the radio's output as she fought nervousness about her role in what was to come and the underlying light that was lying dormant in McNamara and the strength in Martha as well as the poisonous fury and frustration in Chandler.

Veronica had to admit, that scared the hell out of her. Before she had to touch someone and really work to pick up on anything from them. Now... now she swore she was getting everything without touching anyone. She had the front seat to herself—Taylor's blatant favoritism hadn't gone over well but he'd said that JD would need her and ended the fight.

And JD would, since she was what had to stop Bud, even if Taylor _still_ hadn't told anyone that. She didn't know why JD and he kept that a secret, unless maybe they were afraid Bud would compel one of the others to tell him and she'd end up dead before she could be of any use.

She didn't think that was as big of a risk as she'd thought before, not if she really was getting the senses she was and she could possibly control what others could do without touching them.

“Get ready,” Taylor said. “That car, there. Ugly one. That's Bud.”

Veronica looked over at it. She didn't understand the point of racing stripes on cars that weren't actually racing, and that color combo was hideous, but it seemed to fit Bud. She held onto the door and braced herself as Taylor sped up even more, angling the car in the middle of both lanes so he could go at the Monte Carlo a bit sideways, forcing the other car to slam into the cement divider.

The impact jarred her, and everyone screamed. She heard things shattering and didn't really know that the car would survive it. They stopped, though, and somehow none of them went flying through the windshield, though Taylor looked really, really bad.

She tried to open her door, but it didn't budge. She went to roll down the window, but it was power and not working. Frustrated, she turned and smashed it, cutting her hands as she pulled herself out and over the side of the car, stumbling out. She fell, crying out, but dragged herself up and toward the other car.

“JD?” she called out, but she couldn't hear her own voice, so Duke had survived, at least, and was already doing what she should.

Veronica went on, reaching the passenger door. She pulled on it, but it didn't budge. Not again. She turned to the window, which was already down, thank goodness. JD was bleeding, his head cut near his eyebrow, and she winced as she saw it. He looked up at her and frowned.

She wanted to explain everything, but she couldn't, not with Duke's ability silencing everyone. She looked at Bud. He almost looked dead, but his mouth moved, and she swore. She waved at JD, but he shook his head, and she frowned. He pointed at Bud, and she almost cursed herself for being so stupid.

He was under orders not to leave the car. Of course. She reached over and touched his shoulder, but he didn't move. He took her hand and wrote out on her palm with his finger.

_Turn off Duke._

She shook her head. He'd be stuck under the orders then, and if she heard them, so would she, and that was the last thing they could afford.

_Do it._

She grimaced, reaching out to cut out at least part of Duke's ability. She wasn't sure but she thought maybe she'd just cut them out of the affected area. She hoped so.

“JD, you have to get out of the car. Taylor thinks you're the only one that can stop Bud, that you can reverse what you did when you were a baby, but you don't have that level yet, so we have to get you free and work on that—”

“Use what you can do on me.”

“What? No. I shut people off, remember?”

“You can shut it down or you can use it,” he corrected. “I need you to use what I can do at the same time as I do. I think that's enough.”

“That's crazy.”

“You're holding off what Duke can do from us, aren't you? If I'm right, this ends here and now. Otherwise, he wins.”

“No. We're getting you free and—”

“He ordered me. If he dies, I die, and I feel like even with you here... it's not countering that one. I don't... please, Veronica. At least try it. If I'm wrong, we're not going to lose anything but time. Well, and maybe a headache or hangover from hell, but it's worth it, right? It has to be. I can't go back to that. I was wrong. I shouldn't have left. I just... I was trying to... It was a mistake. Coming back under him has been horrible and he barely had me for... Please.”

She nodded, putting her hand back on him and closing her eyes. What she got from JD was so different from everyone else. She could feel the tug of the future possibilities, almost teasing her and wanting her to dive down into them. She almost got overwhelmed by the abilities she could identify from everyone else around them. She sensed something else there, too, but she didn't know what it was. She forced herself to ignore it, not sure why the activation wasn't tied to the abilities she could see but then she found the thread that was his activation and almost recoiled, startled by how strong it was.

JD caught her arm, and she looked down at him. “I guess you know now why I was terrified of it when I was younger.”

She nodded, forcing herself back into that mess and locating the thread quicker this time. She felt him stir it, saw him move his hand toward Bud, and then everything blurred and pain went through her. She stumbled, breaking contact with JD.

Had it worked? She didn't know, but she didn't think she could move to check. And if she was this bad... what about JD?


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A temporary bit of recovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this was coming for a bit now, but I couldn't get to it sooner. 
> 
> And I had this debate with myself over whether or not Taylor's wife was a Mrs. Columbo and belonged off screen as nothing would live up to her as he'd described her, and I'm still not sure I chose right on that.

* * *

Veronica couldn't get herself up off the ground. She hadn't realized how much that would take out of her, not that she or JD had ever tried that before. She hadn't even known she could single out the two of them from Duke's ability, and then she'd done something else, looking into him like that, which made her wonder just what all she did do, as it was not like that before.

She also didn't know if either of them would survive this, because she really didn't feel like she could move, and she wasn't the one with the actual ability. She also hadn't been in the car that got smashed.

She had to see JD, had to know if he was okay, but she couldn't move.

“JD,” she whispered, putting her hand on the car and regretting it when the hot metal almost burned her skin.

Then someone was there, picking her up. She looked back at Martha in surprise. The other girl didn't let her go right away, which was good, because she didn't trust her legs to keep her up just yet. She felt a little dizzy.

“Is it done?” Martha asked. She frowned when she heard her voice. “I thought... I can hear again. Is Heather not—”

“I kind of cancel things out,” Veronica said, still not entirely sure how to describe her ability. She looked back at JD. He'd slumped over and looked worse than Bud did now. His skin was pale, having lost all color, and it was hard to tell if he was even breathing. “Shit. We have to get him out of there.”

“With what? None of us here are Wonder Woman. Your boyfriend's too heavy to pull him out and if he can't do it on his own, we're fucked,” Chandler said as she joined them. “None of us can lift him. We barely got Taylor out of the car, and he was moving on his own.”

Veronica looked back at him, finding that a little hard to believe. “He's in bad shape, isn't he?”

Chandler nodded. “I was able to grab a weed and turn it into a healing plant, which he was less than grateful for, but it's not much. We're probably going to lose him.”

“Oh, hell.”

“Neither car is going anywhere,” Duke said, looking at the tangled mess of metal. “And we can't carry them to get treatment.”

Veronica looked around. “I swear I sensed more abilities that could be activated when I touched JD. Where is everyone? They seriously drove past without stopping?”

“Taylor did seem to be trying to kill someone there, so maybe they wanted no part of it,” Duke said, shrugging. “Or they found the silence too creepy to stick around in. Who knows?”

“I don't know,” McNamara said. “This is way too weird, and you didn't actually see it—it was like they sped up and left or turned around and didn't come close. Something warned them off. I don't know if it was the silence or something else, but I saw it. They didn't get near us.”

“You have to be exaggerating,” Chandler said. “Still, the point is, we're screwed.”

“No, not yet,” Veronica said. She looked at Martha. “Would you mind?”

“You... want to give me the strength so I can get JD out of the car?” Martha asked. “Can you... you can actually do that?”

Veronica nodded. “I think so. I was able to sense what he did, and we worked together to reverse Bud. JD controlled it, but I... helped. I think.”

Taylor sat down on the ground nearby. “We're going to need to get someone's attention.”

“Does that mean I can have my lights, too?” McNamara asked. “I'd like to be useful for a change.”

“I'm not sure it has to be lights, and you are not useless,” he told her. “And please get JD out of that car now. His condition is deteriorating rapidly.”

“From what I did?” Veronica asked, horrified by the idea. She didn't think she could handle that. He was supposed to be safe. They'd done all this to save him, and she'd killed him?

Taylor shook his head. “He's bleeding internally. The crash hit him harder than I'd hoped.”

“Shit.”

“Do it,” Martha said. “I'll get him out of there. And Heather can tap into a radio wave and send a distress call or something. Just... go ahead, Veronica. I'll help him.”

Veronica nodded, reaching over to put her hand on JD, still in contact with Martha. That strange sense from before was there, and darkness hovered where the future possibilities had tugged at her before, making her gag, but she found the thread and used it, hoping she was doing right in flipping that switch.

Martha stepped back and blinked. “Oh, that feels so weird...”

Veronica caught the car, feeling weak again. “Can you... do anything?”

“Come here,” Chandler ordered, dragging Veronica back. She forced a plant into her hands. “It was grass. Don't think, just chew.”

“Seriously?”

“It helps, if only a little,” Taylor said from the ground. “What I really need is my wife, and not just because I miss her terribly.”

“Okay, I swear I hadn't mastered that radio thing, but if I'm not mistaken, there's a van actually driving toward us,” Duke said, frowning. “No other cars, but a van? Um...”

“A car is a car at this point,” Taylor said. “We take what we can get, but we're going to need something from you, Miss Martha.”

Martha nodded. “Sorry. I just... my body felt like mush there for a second. I think I can try now.”

She put her hands on the car door and yanked. It didn't move, and she grimaced, but then she closed her eyes and pulled again, wrenching it free and throwing it to the side. She leaned in, unbuckling JD and lifting him out like he weighed nothing.

Veronica ran back and knelt next to him, taking his hand and reassuring herself that he was breathing. She looked back at Taylor, who grimaced.

“Someone stop that van.”

* * *

The van skidded to a stop not far from her, and Martha flinched. Even with the strength she had, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to stop it, and she was also worried she'd ruin everything if she tried it. She just stood in place and waited, hoping this would be enough.

A man got out from behind the wheel, and she stared, not sure she understood what she was seeing. Was her mind playing tricks on her? That couldn't be right.

She looked back at Taylor and at the man again. No, it was still there.

“Damn, you're a mess, baby brother.”

Taylor looked up and gave the man a tired smile. “As usual, right, Tanner? Wait. What are you doing here? How did you find us?”

“Grandfather told us you needed us.”

“No. Grandfather never does that. Never. He does not share what he sees.”

“Technically,” a woman said, coming around from the other side of the van, “he didn't. He just said you needed us in Sherwood, Ohio. Nothing more, no matter how many times your brother pushed, and believe me, he pushed.”

Taylor smiled. “Never doubted you for a second.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. What the hell did you do to yourself, you idiot?”

“Is that who I think it is?” McNamara asked, clapping her hands together in a bit of glee. “I think it is. It's _her._ The bane of his existence. Oh, this is so very.”

“You been badmouthing me again?” the woman asked, kneeling down next to Taylor. “Because for that, I should tell you—I left the kids with your sister.”

“Fuck.”

She grinned, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and holding on, muttering something in her ear that none of them could hear but had her going a bit red and saying something about children present.

“None of that now,” Tanner said, folding his arms over his chest. Man, he was big. Martha thought she was big—well, fat—but where Taylor was on the thin side like JD, Tanner was all muscle and taller, too. “What the hell is going on? Like she said, Grandfather didn't explain anything.”

“This the same Grandfather who has visions of the future?” Duke asked, frowning.

“Possible futures,” Tanner corrected. “And how do you know about that, anyway? Who the hell are all these kids?”

“He's here,” Taylor said, raising a hand to point to JD. “And that's his soulmate, Veronica. Meeting her made him even stronger.”

“How strong?”

“He can do what Grandfather does in addition to the activation and enhancement, and I think he's got Tricia's, too, but it's hard to differentiate from his own that's tied to the activation.”

“And Micheal's?”

Taylor hesitated. “Jury's still out on that one. I still can't believe Grandfather sent you.”

“He knew you needed us,” his wife said, pulling back from him. “You know better than to run tracking straight like that and a car accident? You should be dead, you moron. I should—that's it. No sex for a year.”

“Don't punish yourself, too, sweetheart.”

“I didn't say I was,” she told him, and Taylor frowned. She walked away from him. “You'll live, by the way, but it's still going to hurt.”

“I know. Conserve the energy. JD needs you. Should have said that from the start.” Taylor said, getting up. “Damn, woman, you left all the worst sores.”

“You deserve it,” she said, sitting down next to Veronica. “I'll need you to let go of him if I'm going to do this. I can tell you're hurt, too, but you touching him will funnel what I'm about to do away from him and into you, and he can't afford that right now.”

Veronica nodded numbly, forcing herself back. She looked at Tanner. “Your grandfather sent you. With... he saw Sherwood. That was all he mentioned?”

“If Taylor told you about what Grandfather did, he told you he never shares that stuff. He doesn't force us to take any one path. All he told us was that we were needed, and you don't really argue with the man even if some people think his mind is already gone thanks to age,” Tanner said. “Not that it is. He's not that old for a great-grandfather. Tricia had that one really young, you know.”

“Yeah, we heard,” McNamara said. “Very sad.”

“When Bud tried to kill Heather, JD saw it happen—her death—over and over in a bunch of different ways. It just cycled over and over, and it hurt him,” Veronica said. “When I checked again later, it was just darkness, but I'd bet your grandfather saw something like that, a repetitive cycle that meant something was almost certainly going to happen.”

“Makes sense,” Tanner said. “How do you know what JD saw, though? You said you checked?”

“Veronica is almost as unique as her soulmate,” Taylor said, smiling. “She was born gifted at mimicry, which is fitting since she can take and use anyone's ability now. She was able to see what JD saw because she borrowed what he did.”

“Damn,” Tanner said, looking her over. “That's another new one.”

“But fitting,” Taylor said. He went over to his wife's side and touched her shoulder. “You need to stop now, love. It'll take you if you don't.”

She lifted her hands and fell back against him. He grimaced. “Tanner, take her. I'll just keep draining her if I'm near her as much as I want to hold her.”

His brother did, lifting her up into his arms. She moaned but didn't open her eyes. Taylor swallowed, looking sick and muttering to himself under his breath.

“She'll be fine. She'll be fine. She'll be fine...”

“Panic much?” Chandler asked, folding her arms over her chest. He flipped her off, and Tanner laughed.

“You are still such a child even with two of your own.”

“Says the man-child with eight.” Taylor folded his arms over his chest. “I happen to know just how bad both of us were and how much that took out of her, okay? I'm allowed a bit of a panic, even if Poison Ivy over there doesn't understand it.”

“You mess with plants?”

“Toxins,” Chandler corrected. “Though... plants can be used for testing and manipulating into helpful things... or poison.”

“Not bad.”

“No one has said what you do,” Duke said. “Or mentioned her actual name. She's more than the bane of his existence, right?”

“You didn't give them the 'names have power' speech?”

“No, but that's a good one,” Taylor said. “And weird, considering that three of these girls are named Heather.”

“You're kidding.”

“Nope,” Taylor said. “Though I have a particular fondness for Miss Martha over there. She's kind and smart, and her sense is like this warm balm of goodness. A rare, rare thing. McNamara there has something that could be similar, but it's stifled. The other two are more on the bitchy side, though I think there's hope for Duke.”

“Fuck you,” Chandler said and he just shrugged like she'd proved his point.

“If Taylor's wife healed JD—and please tell us her name already,” Veronica began. “Why is he still unconscious? And what about Bud?”

Tanner looked at the mangled Monte Carlo. “He's in there?”

“Yeah. Smashed him into the divider to stop the car.”

“And JD and I reversed the activation on him—I think—so he can't give commands any more. The ones he did have shouldn't be still active, right? That conditional one that you were so worried about with JD dying if Bud did... that's dead, isn't it?”

“Should be,” Tanner said. “Though admittedly, something very weird is going on here.”

“Um, newsflash,” Chandler snapped, “all of this is weird. Or did you miss that? We've got powers, we crashed two cars, people almost died, and you showed up out of nowhere.”

“That's not what he means,” Taylor said, looking around again. “You all noticed it before. The traffic... it's gone. Stopped.”

“Shit,” Tanner said. He shifted the woman in his arms. “Come on, Saige. Let's get you back in the van for a minute.”

She mumbled something but didn't stop him from carrying her over to van. Martha frowned, looking back at Taylor, who was eying the sky with what almost looked like fear. She had to admit, the way it had darkened was a bit ominous, like a bad storm was coming in, but that wasn't enough to make him frown like that.

He went over to JD and Veronica, and Martha followed him, watching as he knelt down next to his cousin. “JD, it's me. It's Taylor. Look, kid, you have to wake up now. Saige did all she could, but you're still gonna hurt. You have to wake up for us, though. Now.”

“What is it?” Veronica asked, looking just as scared as Taylor was. “What's going on?”

“Anything?” Tanner pushed past one of the Heathers to get close. “Damn. I'd forgotten how much he looks like his father.”

“That's what Micheal looked like?”

“A bit. Micheal was taller, had a bit of a nose on him,” Taylor said. Tanner looked at him. “What? It seemed huge back then. He probably would have grown into it if he lived, but he didn't, so... it just seemed big. I remember thinking Tricia was insane falling as hard for him as she did.”

“She was fifteen and stupid,” Tanner agreed. He eyed the sky and then his brother. “What now?”

Taylor grimaced. “Now I'm really starting to wonder what Grandfather saw in those possibilities.”

“Doesn't matter. He wouldn't tell you even if you could call him from out here.”

“No, but he sent you, Tanner. There's a reason for it. There has to be,” Taylor said. He looked at the van. “Take the girls. Get them in there and out of here. Drive until the sky gets light again.”

“What?” Martha asked, shaking her head, knowing she wasn't the only one who was. “We're not going anywhere.”

“And not without a damned explanation,” Chandler insisted. “What the fuck is going on?”

“I did it,” JD's voice cracked out, drawing everyone's attention back to him, full of misery. “I did it, didn't I? Started the damned apocalypse.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Micheal's ability and meeting Tricia went wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got to the line that's been nagging at me almost from the start.
> 
> And I admit the explanation of the backstory with Tricia and Micheal made me a bit uncomfortable, but I think it is necessary at the same time.

* * *

_“Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?” Tricia asked, lifting up the flower and taking a deep breath to inhale its scent._

_“Maybe you,” the boy next to her said, and she blinked, surprised. She would have expected some kind of snide remark from her cousin because Taylor was still in his phase where he was trying to be as manly as his brother, aloof and strong with a disgust for all things even remotely feminine, which just made the fact that he'd already met his very beautiful soulmate that amusing to Tricia._

_He was still in denial about that, but it was so cute all the same. She could see the potential for a love as deep as her grandparents there._

_“Nice,” Tricia said, lowering the flower to get a better look at the boy. He was her age, maybe a bit older, with dark hair and incredible eyes, and she felt a bit of butterflies despite knowing better than that. She came from a long line of soulmated pairs. She knew they existed and that she'd find her own someday, just like Taylor had._

_Though, to be honest, she did not want an ability anything like Taylor's. Poor thing, he still suffered a lot in crowds and that probably explained why he'd run off on her again. He needed space to clear out the sense he was getting of everyone around him._

_“Okay, so it was a cheesy line, but I couldn't help it,” the boy said with a smile that made her stomach flip-flop. “You left it wide open for that.”_

_“I was expecting my cousin to tell me how ugly it really was. Taylor's not big on flowers. I pity his soulmate when he gets older. She'll never get any.”_

_“Oh, so you believe in soulmates?”_

_Tricia studied him. “What, because only fools do and you think I'm an idiot for that? I've actually seen them. In fact, Taylor's got one. He denies it, but it's true. And my cousin Tanner has one and together they seem to be looking to repopulate the world just the two of them. My grandparents were and my parents and my aunts and uncles and all sorts of cousins and—”_

_“Wow. I've never met anyone else whose family was full of soulmates.”_

_She stared at him. “Yours is?”_

_He nodded. “Going back to my grandparents, too.”_

_“I'm not so sure I believe you,” she said. “You could easily be lying to me about it because I said it first.”_

_“I don't lie,” he told her. “And if they get their way, they'll publish another book about it. So it'll be real, and you'll have proof soon enough.”_

_“That's not proof. No one ever believes you unless you show them what you can do.”_

_“Well, I can't do anything. Yet. I haven't met my soulmate. At least... I don't think I have,” he said, giving her a look that made her weak. Her. He was talking about her. She almost wanted to believe him. He was cute, and she'd never felt an attraction like this to anyone. She wanted to believe him. “My parents have a theory. It takes touch.”_

_“I think they're wrong,” Tricia said. “With some people all it needs is a look.”_

_“Are you saying you think you've found that someone?”_

_She laughed. “No, I don't think you got me with a look. I don't even know your name, and while you're cute and I've never flirted so well with anyone in my life or even talked like I wasn't a tongue-tied idiot, that doesn't mean that we're soulmates. We're just two teenagers in a farmer's market with too much time on our hands.”_

_“Speaking of hands,” he said, taking hers and making her shiver, as warm as his touch was. “I'm Michael.”_

_“Tricia,” she said, and he smiled at her just before he leaned in for a kiss. She could have stopped him, but she didn't. She grabbed hold of him, eager to get closer, because everything about this felt right and perfect, and she swore she could see it._

_She could see deep down in to the person that he was, and he was so breathtakingly beautiful inside and out, so sweet and pure, and she couldn't be close enough to that warmth and love that he seemed to have so much of, not just for her but for everyone. She swore she'd never a met a genuinely good person before him, but he was. She could tell._

_He broke free, taking in air. “Wow. Again. I think we got a little carried away.”_

_“Did... did you see anything?”_

_“No, but you did, didn't you?” he asked, touching her cheek, and she nodded. He smiled, taking her hand again. “Maybe mine's more passive. I mean, it would fit. My uncle, he got a pretty aggressive one, and he's always telling me how much of coward I am. I don't think there's anything wrong with pacifism, especially not with what people like us can do.”_

_“Yeah,” she agreed. “It's better not to use it rather than hurt someone.”_

_“Are you hungry? I think they had a food stand around here, and I could use some caramel corn or maybe a corn dog.”_

_She laughed, leaning her head against his arm and walking with him. The sky seemed darker, but for the two of them, the sky was shining bright, and she wasn't about to let him go._

* * *

_“I am so going to pretend I did not see what I just saw,” Taylor said, gagging, and Tricia almost reached over to hit him, but he ducked at the last minute. “Seriously? What happened to not until you were sure you'd met your soulmate and had a big ridiculous wedding? You've only been planning that since you were what, five?”_

_She rolled her eyes, trying to fix her shirt which she'd misbuttoned in her haste. She hadn't actually meant for that to happen, it was true, neither of them did, but she and Micheal were just... inseparable and it was kind of like... a natural extension of that, she thought. She'd marry him now if they could, but she knew none of her family would agree to that._

_“You deserve that for invading my privacy with your ability, Taylor, and I did find my soulmate.”_

_He snorted. “Sure you did. You found hormones and lust and convinced yourself it was a whole lot more than it was.”_

_She shook her head. “I can see inside you. I see who you are, and you're good but you don't shine as brightly as Micheal does. He's beautiful inside and out. I've seen some dark, ugly people, ones who are poison inside, too, but not him. He's good. He's so good.”_

_“Not good enough to wait, though,” Taylor said, and she almost chided him for being a prude, but he was only thirteen, after all, and he'd been ducking people telling him he was going to marry that girl for years now. “Look, I don't want to know about any of this. It's your business, but you scared everyone disappearing like you did, and I got saddled with finding you. So I did, I get to regret it for the rest of my life, and thanks for that because I so didn't need more things I didn't want in my head.”_

_She sighed. “I didn't know anyone was looking for me.”_

_“You left the farmer's market and haven't come home in days, what the fuck did you think anyone would think?”_

_“Language.”_

_“Screw that,” Taylor snapped. “Tricia, there is... according to Mom, everyone goes a little weird when they meet their soulmates and learn their ability, but this? This is insane. You don't just disappear. And you know what I can do, so what the hell did you think would happen? That I wouldn't have to come for you?”_

_“I...” Tricia sighed. “I... it's like there's no one else, you know? Just me and him and nothing else matters. And we've talked and talked... we swapped stories about the generations of soulmates. His family published a book about—”_

_“Oh, hell, no. Tell me you did not fall for a Woods. I am going to disown you.”_

_“You're not the family patriarch,” she said, shaking her head again. “You're younger than me and in no place to lecture.”_

_“Yeah, and supposedly I've known my soulmate since I was eight and you don't see me screwing her, now do you? I didn't run off into the sunset with her. Tanner didn't with his. No one else has. Just you. You're being irresponsible and stupid and I am so beyond pissed off at you right now.”_

_She nodded. “I can see you darkening as we speak.”_

_“Shut up,”he snapped. “Go home, explain this to your parents and our grandparents. If you don't, and you run off again, I swear I will make you regret it.”_

_“I don't plan on running off. It's time the family met Micheal anyway. I am going to marry him, after all. As soon as I turn sixteen.”_

_Taylor rubbed his head, turning to Micheal who had been keeping his distance while they argued. “If you are such a good person, and fuck it if my ability isn't saying the same thing, then you fix this. Go home. Explain what happened, fess up to all of it, and accept whatever punishment might be coming for disappearing for days. Don't you dare pull any Romeo and Juliet bullshit because I can find you anywhere and if I have to, I will make all of you pay for it.”_

_Micheal nodded. “I understand. I never meant to keep her from her family. I just... It was so nice when we were together... it felt perfect.”_

_“No more details. Please. Spare me,” Taylor said. Then he frowned. “Wait. You... Oh, hell, no.”_

_“Taylor? What's wrong?”_

_“It was literal, wasn't it? The sense of there only being the two of you. It's what he can do,” Taylor said, backing away from Micheal. “This is bad. This is really bad.”_

_“What are you talking about? Micheal didn't do anything wrong.”_

_“You don't see it because you're in love with him,” Taylor said. “And whatever sense you have is leading you so astray, but he... he's actively changing reality around him. I swear he is. It's so wrong here. My whole being recoils from what he's doing.”_

_Micheal frowned. “I'm not doing anything.”_

_“That just makes it worse.”_

* * *

_“This is crazy,” Tricia said. “I know you're all upset because I lost track of time while I was with Micheal, but you're taking that way too far.”_

_Tanner shook his head. “I don't think so, Tricia. Taylor has a good sense of people. You know that. He can see anyone's abilities when he tracks, and he does see yours. He also sees Micheal's and something's wrong there.”_

_“Michael wouldn't hurt anyone.”_

_“No one is actually saying he has,” her grandfather said, and she frowned, looking at him. “Though it is a very strong possibility that he could.”_

_“No. Not him. Why is it so hard for you to believe that he's a decent person? What, because we got carried away? Because... we had sex?”_

_Her father shook his head. “I wish that was the only reason, and don't think that isn't something we're going to be discussing later, once we've dealt with the bigger issue here. You... Having a soulmate isn't a pass for doing whatever the hell you feel like. We always thought of you as a lot more responsible than this. Instead you disappear and sleep with a boy you've known for a few days. That alone would have us all concerned, but what your cousin and my dad can tell about his ability has us all worried.”_

_“He wouldn't harm anyone.”_

_Her mother touched her shoulders. “Maybe not intentionally, but remember, there's still a potential for that with any of our skills, especially before we can control them. You know I know what I'm talking about, Tricia.”_

_“Just because you being upset caused a few rainstorms—”_

_“I caused flash floods,” her mother said. “Do not belittle what I did or think this is nothing. You can't alter that because you want to believe everything will be perfect now or that we're wrong about what could happen. Each generation is progressively stronger than the last, we've been seeing that more and more, and Micheal is third generation on his side, just like you are on yours. He could have a very strong ability, like Taylor does. Like Tanner does.”_

_“Tanner makes shields, and Taylor's just pissed because when he found us we were... well...”_

_Taylor shook his head. “I am not exaggerating just because I saw you two at it, okay? I'm not that fucking petty. Micheal's ability is stronger than anything I've ever felt before, and I swear, it is altering reality around him. That is what it feels like to me. Don't tell me I don't know what I'm feeling. I do. I've had years with this nightmare of mine, and I know what I sense. Tell her, Grandfather. Tell her what you see. Do it this time. Please.”_

_Her grandfather looked over at him and back to her. “I wish you'd made other choices.”_

_She gagged. “No. You're wrong. You have to be wrong about this. You can't keep me from seeing Micheal, and he's not bad. He's not—”_

_“No one is saying he's evil,” her mother said. “Listen to yourself, Tricia. Calm down and really hear what we're saying. He needs control of what seems to be a potentially dangerous ability. That is what we're telling you. And yes, you do need to keep your distance for now, but only because everyone gets stronger after spending time with their soulmate.”_

_“No.”_

_“Until he's under control, you're not seeing him,” her father insisted. “Tricia, don't be stupid. This isn't forever. I don't love it, and I'd like to make it forever, but I know better than that. I just don't want him getting too strong to stop himself. You don't want that, either.”_

* * *

_“Micheal?”_

_He looked at her, frowning. “What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here.”_

_“I had to see you,” she said, reaching for him, but he didn't take her hand. She frowned. Wasn't he glad to see her? What was wrong here? “Please. They said all kinds of wrong stuff, tried to scare me away, but I'm not scared. I want you.”_

_He shook his head. “Oh, Tricia. Don't you see? They're not wrong. I didn't understand it, but your cousin was right. My family can see it, too. Something I'm doing is... it's changing things. I don't know how, or I'd stop it. I can't. And until I can, you need to go. I can't let this hurt you or anyone else.”_

_“No. You're not a bad person. You—you can't have an ability that terrible. It's just... not right.”_

_He gave her a sad smile, touching her cheek. “I didn't want to believe that, either, but it's true, and you need to go.”_

_She sighed. “I miss you so much... I feel incomplete, like there's a hole in me. How am I supposed to stay away from you?”_

_“It's temporary,” he told her. “As soon as I can control this, we'll be together. I just... I have to find a way to fix it first.”_

_She nodded, trying to make herself leave. He gave her a kiss on top of her head, and she shivered. That was not right at all. “Shouldn't a goodbye get a real one?”_

_“We shouldn't even be touching,” Micheal told her, but he did kiss her, and she held on tight, wanting to believe it wouldn't be long at all. Maybe it would help if she stayed. He could get control here, now, while she was with him._

_“See?” Taylor said, and she stepped back from Micheal to look at him in disbelief. “I told you she was here.”_

_“You followed me?”_

_“I know you,” Taylor reminded her. “I knew you wouldn't stay away despite every good reason to. You need to leave now.”_

_“No.”_

_“Look at the sky,” Tanner told her. “That's not right. It's not natural. I know you're upset, and you think this is the worst thing that can happen. I know what it's like to be apart from a soulmate and think it's the end of the world, but Tricia, it's temporary. Come with us. Please.”_

_“Go,” Micheal said, sounding worried. He eyed the sky and bit his lip. “I can't stop it.”_

_“No,” she said, and Tanner grabbed her, pulling her back. She screamed in his hold as the sky went even darker, fighting to get free. “Let me go to him. Please. Let me be with him. If it's the end, let me be with him.”_

_“That's crazy, Tricia. Give him a chance to—”_

_“I'm sorry,” Micheal said, and she saw Tanner's shield go up as the world around them exploded._

* * *

“What the hell is he talking about?” Chandler demanded, looking between the two men in frustration and disbelief. “He did not just say what I thought he said, did he?”

“He's just confused,” McNamara said, sounding almost like she was trying to convince herself of it, too. “Like that thing... he just woke up... and he's sick and hurting and... delirious, that's it.”

“I don't think so,” Duke said. “Remember, he kept seeing darkness in those future possibilities. Nothing but darkness. Look at the sky. He saw this coming. And it's what they were afraid of all along—he has his father's ability, too.”

Veronica winced, hating the idea but suspecting that it was, in fact, very true. JD had gotten his father's ability, that was that other thing she'd touched on when trying to help him with Bud, and now it was loose. She might even have been the one that started it.

“So now he freed himself from Bud and fucked over the universe?” Chandler asked. “Great. Wonderful. Super awesome. Now what?”

“I told you, you're leaving,” Taylor said. “Go get in the van. Now.”

“So, what, we just leave you and Dead Zone here to die?” Duke snorted. “There's no way Veronica would agree to that, and your wife won't let you do it, either, even if she is kind of... incapacitated. She won't forgive you.”

Duke was right. Veronica wasn't going anywhere. She knew that she wasn't. She couldn't.

“If he dies, I'm not so sure he's worried about forgiveness,” Chandler said, she folded her arms over her chest. “You're insane. There has to be some way of stopping this.”

“Last time, Micheal took it on himself,” Tanner said. “It killed him, but it stopped it from spreading.”

“Fuck,” Chandler said, looking over at JD, almost seeming like she might pity him.

Veronica knew it was messed up. They'd done all this to save him from Bud, and now it seemed like he was just going to die, here, like this, and there was nothing else they could do.

Only there had to be. She refused to think otherwise.

“You never actually said,” Martha began, looking at Taylor. “What is it his father did that he can do that is so dangerous? Is it really calling down the apocalypse?”

Taylor shook his head. “No. He... he was capable of altering reality. It was a small thing at first, both he and Tricia had no idea he was doing it... they got caught up in their own little world because it was, literally, their own little world. Only that reality bending got stronger, too strong, too fast. They were inseparable for the first week they knew each other. Constantly touching. And they... consummated their bond at least once. He... didn't know what he was doing, but once he did, he tried to stop it.”

“The only way he had was killing himself,” Tanner said. “And even then, if not for what I could do, we'd all be dead.”

“What can you do?”

“Shields,” Veronica said. “He makes shields. Protective bubbles. He can save all of you if you go.”

Heather snorted. “Veronica, don't be stupid. You are not staying here with him to die.”

Veronica shook her head. “This is different. JD isn't his father. He's aware of what he can do, and he stands a better chance of stopping it just by that alone as he can control the rest of what he can do. I'm right, aren't I?”

Taylor hesitated. “It's possible, but I don't think you should put all your trust in that.”

She laughed a bit bitterly. “You know I'm not.”

“Veronica, don't,” Duke said. “That's crazy. Mimicking him would be insane. You'd just make it worse, and maybe the shield wouldn't be enough.”

JD dragged himself up, looking at the sky and shaking his head. “You know how you thought I activated you to stop Bud?”

Veronica looked at him, nodding a bit numbly. “Yes.”

“You were never supposed to stop him,” JD said. “You were meant to stop me.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica struggles against what JD sees as inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was stuck on this. Very stuck. And then... dialogue happened and this happened and... I don't know, but it's an update.

* * *

“I can't. I can't do that, can't... kill you,” Veronica said, shaking her head. She couldn't do that. She wasn't going to let him do it, either. He couldn't die. They just got him free of Bud. This was so wrong. She couldn't lose him now. JD was... he was too special. He was more than his abilities, no matter how strong or rare those abilities were. He was still a person, still human, and she'd been enjoying learning about him.

Maybe they weren't soulmates. Maybe soulmates weren't meant to be. That didn't mean they couldn't get to know each other, to maybe love each other, and she wanted that chance. She wanted all the chances in the universe. They should have at least one, right? All those possible futures, and they didn't even get one?

“She's right. She gave us a lecture on our way to find Bud,” Chandler said. “We're not murderers.”

“No one is asking you to kill JD,” Martha said. “That would be horrible. We couldn't. Even... no. That's so wrong. You're like...”

“Don't say Romeo and Juliet,” Duke said. “That would just be wrong. That is not what this is.”

“It could still be a tragedy,” McNamara said. “If either of them dies... and now... after we saved everyone from Bud... It's horrible. What happened to his parents was bad enough, but to have it happen twice?”

“There has to be something else,” Martha agreed. “Isn't there? We don't have to let him die, do we? He can... turn it off, can't he?”

“It's... I don't know, but for your own safety, you should leave,” Taylor insisted. “Go with Tanner and get to safety. The less people affected by this, the better.”

“He's right. We should get as many people out of here as possible,” Tanner agreed. “And that includes you, baby brother. I am not leaving you behind. Don't even think about asking me for that. Saige would kill me, and if she didn't, then the rest of the family would.”

“What about Bud?” Martha asked. “Are we leaving him behind?”

“Go ahead,” Chandler said. “I don't think anyone's going to miss him.”

Veronica looked at the car. They weren't, and it it wasn't like anyone really thought that he deserved to live. She swallowed, looking at JD. “How much time do you think they have to get away if we can't stop it?”

He shook his head. “I don't know. I can't... this one is different. I can't even... I know it's doing stuff because I can see it. The sky and the road... But I can't feel it... it's loose... and I don't know that I can stop any of it. They should just go.”

“We can't leave you behind,” Martha repeated. “That's not right.”

JD snorted. “You're too good for this world, you know that? Just get the fuck out of here. Now.”

“The sky is darker now than it was before,” Duke said, looking up. “I think if we're going, we have to go now.”

“I almost wish someone had a power that would just... shove them in the van because I'd so do it,” Veronica said, grimacing. She didn't know how to make them leave, but she wasn't going, and she knew JD was still in no state to move.

“Come on,” Tanner said. “Don't make me carry you. You'll regret it.”

“This is so not the time for a noble stand,” Chandler said. “Veronica, I swear, if you die—”

“Not planning on it,” Veronica said, cutting her off. JD snorted, but she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest for a second as she tried to think, not wanting to watch them go. 

That made it seem like they'd lose, they'd die here, and she wasn't going to do that, not if she could do anything to stop it.

She wasn't giving in. She wasn't giving up. They were fighting this.

“You should go, too.”

She shook her head. “I'm not leaving. Remember, you said I was meant to stop you.”

“Yeah, but you don't have to die doing it,” he said, reaching down to lift her chin up, making her look at him. “I think I can probably manage to do what he did, turn it on me and end it.”

She frowned. “What do you mean, turn it on yourself?”

“I think he... if he was warping reality... he chose to make it one where he didn't exist... and it took him but the change... it had some ripple effects and stuff... which is what almost killed them as they left... the blowback from the change.”

Veronica swallowed, looking up at the sky and over at the van backing away from them. “No. That is not what's happening here.”

“Come on. One for all... It's simple math.”

She shook her head. “No. This isn't the same as when it happened for your parents. We're older—not by much—but older and not so caught up in each other we can't see the flaws in what we've done. We... We got stronger together, fast, even, faster than either of us thought we could, but we didn't do it for passion or out of stupidity... I was calming you down and I think Taylor was being a bit of a sneaky asshole, pushing me to get stronger and more in control at the same time, and we... we stopped Bud. We flipped his activation, which was only a theoretical thing until the moment I touched you in the car and we did it. So this... this is like that. We just... we find a way together, like we did before.”

JD swallowed. “I don't see any way to do it. I can't find any real... grasp on this one. The... the others... you know... as soon as I was free of Bud and knew what I could do... I could kind of... feel and navigate them... but this... I can't... It's changing, and I can tell it is, but I can't tell what I'm doing that's making the change.”

“It's probably unconscious, drawing on thoughts you don't even know you had. Things like... how the world would be better off without Bud or something like that.”

JD looked over at the wrecked Monte Carlo. “You think he's already dead? Despite what we did to... not kill him?”

“I don't know. I don't think any of us will be sad about it, though.”

JD nodded. “I'm not sure I can even remember a time when I thought he was anything close to a good dad, and if I did, it probably was because of an order, not something I really felt. I... God, Ronnie, if you'd heard him when he found me...”

She reached up and put her hands on his face. “He can't hurt you any more, not in any way but memories. Even if he lives, he can't get near you. He'll go to prison. We'll get a restraining order and emancipate you and whatever else it takes.”

He gave a short laugh. “Listen to you making all these future plans when I can still only see darkness from that.”

“We saw Heather dying over and over again, but she's alive, remember? There's still a possibility that isn't the same dark place as the rest of it because there's got to be a place for happily ever after somewhere.”

“That's romance novel bullshit.”

“Real people get happy endings. Not perfect endings. Not constant happiness, not a guarantee that they'll never have pain or loss, but they get to live happy, fulfilled lives. Look at Taylor and his wife. They had tragedy but they also had love. And I'm not even talking about love and us, but don't you think we should at least live to have the chance at it?”

He leaned his head against hers. “I'm so fucked up, Veronica. I am a mess at best and the rest of it... It probably is better to just... end it and be done.”

“Fuck that,” she said, getting more laughter from him. “I am not giving up on you.”

“You should.”

“JD, do you realize that in all the time we were talking, before and after they left, the dark apocalypse that was looming hasn't done anything more than _loom?_ It's just a possibility. It's not set. We don't have to take that path. Just like those other terrible possibilities we saw before... we don't have to do them.”

“You mean we don't kill Kurt and Ram? Because I kind of like that idea.”

She shook her head. “You don't mean that.”

“They're assholes.”

“Yeah, but we'll just let Martha kick their ass next time, and no one will ever see them the same, and that's if Chandler lets them ever get it up again, because I'm sure she'll create a toxin for that.”

“Poison Ivy makes date rape in reverse... a must have for any girl dating a jerk jock in high school.”

“Um, a bit more complicated than in reverse, but sure,” Veronica said. “We'll make a fortune off of it and create charities and feed starving children and... and support victims of domestic violence and child abuse.”

“Sounds a bit too altruistic for us.”

“You think so?”

“I'm not that good a person,” he reminded her. “We're sitting here, discussing the pending end of the world, and I thought about killing some bullies and then about kissing you senseless and a bit more than that. Right here.”

She flushed. “Out in the open?”

“Why the fuck not? The world's ending, right?”

“You're insane,” she said, but she kissed him anyway, wanting to feel that again, wondering it if would make any difference if she did it and telling herself she didn't really care. She half-figured distracting JD kept him from making it worse, stalled for time while he found the control he needed. She was his balance, his counter, and she could help him find a solution to this that did not end in his death or anyone else's.

Yeah, sure, it was a risk making him stronger, but maybe that was what had to happen.

He broke off the kiss, drawing in air and leaning his head against hers. “I think maybe we are soulmates.”

“Oh? Now you agree we are?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Because... all this damage... Not so sure I could love anyone else, if I'm even capable of it... but you... you're everything.”

“Don't talk like that. We're not dying here,” she insisted. She wrapped her arms around him. “There's something we can do. I'm sure of it. We just have to find it, and we... we still have time. The sky is dark, but it's not like everything is. It's only here, and it doesn't seem to be spreading and... I haven't even looked at what that is, but if I did... maybe I could see what we need to do to stop it.”

“I think we know the solution to this.”

“No. Because... it would go against even nature to create something within you, this ability, if it was one you couldn't live with. Think about it—Heather can manipulate toxins... heal and wound... but if she wasn't immune to toxins, what she did would kill her. And I'm sure there are other examples like hers. I just can't think of any right now. That was Martha and Duke's department. They're our experts.”

“That we sent off in a van.”

Veronica shrugged. “That doesn't mean I'm wrong or that we shouldn't have done it. I don't want to give up, but I don't want anyone hurt, and I don't think them being here would help. You getting agitated and upset won't help. What seems to be helping is distraction... and me. I think touching is part of it. And we're here, together, and it's good.”

“Good?” JD asked, looking up at the sky.

“Well, it's not as bad as it could be,” she corrected herself. “I'm here. With you. And it's an overly romantic idiotic sentiment, but I think the idea of dying in the arms of someone you love is a nicer way to go than a lot of others. Certainly better than going alone.”

“Thought you said we weren't dying.”

“I don't want to, and I don't want you to, but if we're going out... I vote we go together.”

“That's a scary thought. You sure you want to make that sort of pact?”

She shook her head. “No, just more like... with you to the end, whatever that is. That's a good one, isn't it?”

He answered that with another kiss, and she tried not to let desperation get the better of her. She was starting to get worried again, despite her words, and she didn't want that. She didn't want them to die. She wanted to survive this and really have that chance at a life together.

Maybe they were soulmates. Maybe they weren't.

She wanted a chance to find out.

She closed her eyes, reaching out into him to find that thread she'd felt before, the one that had been dormant before. She almost recoiled from the power of it again, breaking off the kiss and sucking in air to calm herself.

“It really is terrifying, isn't it? I am. I'm... scary. Don't laugh. I am.”

“No. You're special and unique and better than you think under the damage. There's so much potential in you, JD. It's not about the dark things you can do. It's about the choices you make. And we still have time to make them good ones.”

He shook his head. “I don't deserve you.”

“I know you don't, but supposedly if men married the women they deserved they should have a very bad time of it.”

“Quoting to me now, huh? I didn't know you knew Oscar Wilde.”

“Shouldn't I be more surprised you do?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I used to spend hours in the library to spite Bud. I read a lot of things then.”

“I want to know about them. All of them.”

“That could take a while.”

“We're soulmates. The point is kind of forever, right?”

“And yet the whole apocalypse thing—”

She put her hand over his mouth. “Not going to happen. Because we're stronger than this. Together, we really are.”

“So cliché.”

“Oh, come on. Do you really want to die without ever having found out what it's like to... consummate this bond of ours?”

He grinned, the kind of smile that went straight to her gut and lower, making her wish they weren't in public facing the apocalypse. “Well, when you put it that way...”

She laughed, pulling him in for another kiss. She closed her eyes as she did, finding that thread. This time when she touched on it, she felt him do the same, and when they both had hold of it, the sky seemed to shift, going light again, so bright it almost blinded her.

“There. You had it. You could control it there.”

He smiled, cupping her cheek. “I can do it with you. Not so sure I could do it alone.”

“You're not alone,” she said. “Let's finish this.”

She reached into his abilities again, taking hold of this one, ignoring the fear that came with its power, relieved when she could tell he had the same hold on it, and she waited, feeling him reach for it and then she realized what he intended to do, and she would have pulled back, but she didn't have time.

She felt it snap, and then there was nothing at all.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The others realize something has changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, it's been a struggle to get this wrapped up. It was so much harder than I thought it would be. I didn't think it would be when I started this one, but the last few chapters did not come easy and felt like... well, I probably shouldn't say because it's biased and me being an insecure writer. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for the delay and hopefully this will be all wrapped up soon like it deserves and maybe then I can do the sequel to Static or something even if the other crossover is kind of eating up what little headspace I have outside of my horrible job.

* * *

“Wait, look,” Heather cried as she tugged on Chandler's arm to the other girl's annoyance. “It's getting bright again.”

“You're such a pillowcase,” Chandler said, pulling herself free. She glared at Heather, but Heather didn't care. She wasn't wrong. She could see the sky lighting up. She couldn't help her excitement, either. She didn't have an ability, though she was supposed to have lights and would have gladly made the world brighter if she could have. “We were driving away from the dark sky, remember?”

“I know that, but it's not just that it's bright where we're going,” Heather said. “Look. It's bright behind us now, too. Tanner, can you turn us around? Please. I think they stopped it.”

“What?”

“She's right, big brother,” Taylor said. “The sky is lighter back there again. I think they managed something. And it doesn't look like it was an explosion this time, or you would have felt it coming and thrown up those wonderful shields of yours.”

Tanner grunted, slowing down but not stopping the van. “We can't be sure that it's safe.”

“Maybe you can't,” Chandler said, “but he can, can't he? The dick's powers are to tell him how people are when he tracks them. So if he tracks Dead Zone or Veronica, he'll know.”

“What?”

“By Dead Zone, she means JD,” Taylor explained. “I'm sure the rest you can figure out for yourself.”

Tanner laughed. “There you go, making friends again.”

“I did. Her name is Martha.” Taylor grinned back at her, still playing favorites. “And I suppose you can probably count Veronica, too. Not sure about anyone else.”

“Me,” Heather said, smiling at him. She liked Taylor. He was funny, and he stood up to Chandler, and he knew things and helped them. “Can we go back now? I want to make sure that Veronica is okay.”

“Are they still alive?” Duke asked. “I thought... I mean... the sky is back to normal, so that means whatever they did worked, didn't it?”

“Depends on what they did,” Martha said. “Taylor, did... did JD stop it by killing himself?”

Taylor closed his eyes, drawing in a breath and letting it back out. “I don't think so.”

“That's not like you,” Tanner said. “What does that mean?”

Taylor grimaced. “The sense I'm getting of him... it doesn't... it doesn't feel the same, but what that means... I don't... I'm not sure. Just... turn around and take us back. Well, no. Not all of us. Saige probably can't get too close right now. She's already weak, and she can't heal anyone until she's rested up and restored herself some.”

“You are not leaving me on the side of the road if you want to stay married,” Saige said, putting a hand to her head. “I am not that fragile. I can control what I do better than you can, so just shut up and let Tanner drive.”

“Yes, dear.”

Heather smiled. They were kind of cute to watch. She thought it was adorable to see them like that. Those were the kinds of soulmates that even the books didn't show but people should want. They were comfortable and even when they were bickering, she could tell they had a lot of love for each other.

“He 'yes, dear'ed me. Tanner—”

“Oh, no. I am not getting in the middle of one of those things. No way. I value my life too much for that. I am just going to turn this car around and go find our cousins.”

“You're not related to Veronica,” Duke said. Then she frowned. “Are you?”

“Not so far as any of us knows,” Saige said, eying her husband. Taylor gave her a look that Heather took for agreement. “He's speaking in the sense that it's a very good chance that Veronica and JD will end up as cursed as the rest of us and married to our soulmate.”

“Hey, only one of us feels cursed, and that person is not in this car,” Taylor said. “Most of us are very happy, Saige's assertions to the contrary. See, it took me a while to figure it out, but the woman likes being difficult to understand—well, being contrary, actually. So she'll say stuff the worst way possible and act like she doesn't like me much just because she'd never dare admit that she cares. She's not wired that way.”

“Sure,” Duke muttered. “And I suppose she does that to your kids, too?”

Saige shrugged. “Our eldest's first word was sarcastic.”

“You mean it was sarcastic?”

“No, she means it was sarcastic,” Tanner said. “Taylor must have said it a thousand times. 'Don't worry. Mommy's just being sarcastic.' Over and over again. I was getting tired of it myself, and I didn't live there, but Taylor was afraid the poor thing would get a complex because Saige over there almost got herself locked up by social services with the crap she'd say.”

“Honestly. Some people really don't understand humor,” Saige said, folding her arms over her chest. “And some of it wasn't even a joke. I was being serious. There are life lessons one has to learn, but apparently telling them to an infant is a crime.”

“What were you teaching the kid? How to murder someone?”

“My favorite was her lecture on why men outside her father were not to be trusted and many of them should be castrated for the sake of humanity. That one... it did not go over well with her accidental audience.”

“Again, he deserved it for hitting on an obviously married woman with a young baby while she was trying to shop for diapers because someone had caught a nasty stomach bug and had the runs,” Saige said. “It wouldn't have been so bad if there hadn't been an outbreak of flu in the family. I swear, the men are such babies. 'Please, Saige, come heal us, we're dying.' And Taylor wasn't there to give me a break, so I'd just healed half the family and found my daughter picked it up and that was a fine thanks I couldn't do much about because I was too tired and so I'm shopping with a baby and very pissed off, and I get this pervert telling me she can't possibly be mine because I didn't have any fat on me from having her. And he grabbed my ass. Seriously, who does that?”

“Ram.”

“God, Heather, dump him already. He is such a jerk,” Duke said, and Chandler looked at her. “Come on. Like she needs that dead weight, and clearly he's not her soulmate, so why bother? For that matter, why are you bothering with David? You know he's not yours now. You know you have an ability, and it's active, so I guess you better find someone who can handle that, whoever it might be, because I doubt that Remington asshole will.”

“Excuse me?” Chandler asked, her tone dangerous. “What did you just say?”

“Oh, Poison Ivy, as scary as you are... maybe even scarier now that you have an active ability that could be used for evil, you lost the power you had before. Things are different now. They're stronger. They've found their own voice and strength—and I'm not just talking about Miss Martha's ability. I'm talking about the part of them that was missing that let you trample all over them. That's not going to work anymore. You try it, and you better be ready for war.”

Chandler glared at Taylor. “You don't know anything.”

“I know too much,” he countered. “That's why you don't like me, but then again... it's also why I don't like you.”

“Say what you will about that idiot husband of mine,” Saige said. “He's usually a pretty good judge of character.”

Tanner stopped the van. “Here. This should be far enough back for you, Saige. Stay put. I'll go first just in case.”

* * *

Martha reached Veronica before any of the others despite Tanner going first. She rushed over after he got out, no longer caring if it was safe or not. Whatever had been going on here was done, and she was afraid that traffic would start up. They had to get them out of the road if nothing else. Even if they weren't alive—and as soon as she was close, she could tell Veronica was breathing, but she was blocking JD so Martha wasn't sure about that.

She knelt down and touched Veronica's shoulder, trying to wake her gently. “Veronica?”

“What happened to them?” Chandler demanded. “They didn't explode, but they're clearly not moving. You're the one with all the answers, right? What the fuck happened?”

Taylor ignored her, kneeling down next to JD as Martha lifted Veronica off of him. He winced, brushing back some of JD's hair and sighing. “That was a crazy idea you had, kid.”

“What are you talking about?” Duke asked. “He's not dead, so it can't have been that bad.”

“Um, I think it was,” McNamara said. “Look at Veronica. If it was such a good thing, why is she so still and pale?”

“I'm a bit confused, too,” Tanner said. “What did he do? You're not acting like he just gained control and stopped himself. What did he do?”

Taylor looked at Tanner. “He shut himself off. Deactivated himself.”

“He can do that?” Chandler asked. “Wait, so did Dead Zone take it all away, then? He can't do shit now? That's where he is?”

“Were you hoping he could reverse what he did to you?” Taylor asked. “Not fancying being Poison Ivy for the rest of your life?”

Chandler glared at him. “Did I say that?”

“You might have been thinking it,” Duke said, and Chandler glared at her.

“That sucks,” McNamara said. Everyone looked at her. She shrugged. “What? I wanted to have the light thing. I think it would be nice, and it's not fair being the only one without a power. I don't like it. And you'd make fun of me for the rest of my life, Heather. Don't deny it.”

Chandler shrugged, and Duke shook her head.

Martha chose to ignore them. “Are they going to be okay? JD and Veronica, I mean. He... that... what they did... it didn't... hurt them, did it?”

“It took a lot out of them to do it,” Taylor said. “Turning your own ability against yourself... Not sure anyone's ever done that before.”

“Well, most of us have a passive or defensive ability. None of us are like him,” Tanner said. “Still, that leaves you with a bit of a problem when it comes to that stuff you wanted to discuss with him for the future.”

“You mean recruiting Dead Zone into your war against people who misuse abilities,” Chandler said. “Too bad. Guess that won't be happening.”

Taylor looked at her. “You don't sound like you'd mind that at all, but I have to disappoint you again, Poison Ivy. He only shut off his ability to alter reality. Which, when you think about it, was a very practical, if painful, solution that didn't cost him or anyone else their lives.”

“What?”

“It is too dangerous an ability for anyone to have, if you think about it,” Saige said as she joined them, looking down at JD. “As soon as people knew what Micheal could do, they panicked, and it just went to hell after that.”

“I thought you weren't around Taylor then.”

“She's a Woods,” Duke said. “Right? You were a cousin or something to Micheal.”

Saige grimaced. “Please don't remind me. There's still a huge rift there, has been since half the clan decided to ruin our lives by publishing a book about us.”

“There a lot of intermarriage between your families?”

“God, no,” Saige said, shuddering. “I told you. They split us right down the middle when they did that. My side of things went one way, they went another. And we weren't intermarrying before... it was actually the two of us that made the two groups aware of each other.”

“Yeah. Someone didn't want anything to do with me despite my parents trying to persuade her parents that some controlled contact could help me with my... um... problems,” Taylor said, wincing. “I was a big mess when this thing first showed itself.”

“Michael and Tricia were the only others to cross that line, and it may have been half the reason they stayed away from home,” Tanner said. “Things between the families were... tense.”

Saige shook her head. “Let's not get into that now. Those bad memories are best left in the past. And we need to get them out of here because I doubt whatever was diverting traffic will last much longer.”

“That brings up a bit of a sticky point,” Tanner said. “What are we going to do about the car Taylor used to ram Bud?”

“Oh, that. I rented it under an alias and paid cash. They can't trace it back to me. We could set it on fire if you think that would help, though.”

* * *

Veronica woke in a panic, shaking and looking around her in confusion. Where was she? She'd sworn she was on a road. The sky was getting dark, but it wasn't that dark, not like this. She bit her lip, refusing to scream as she tried to make sense of how dark it was. She didn't believe it had gone wrong. They weren't in the darkness. Not that dead nothingness of a future possibility that JD had seen.

They were alive. They were safe.

Weren't they?

Where was JD? This wasn't right. Veronica put her feet over the edge of the bed, easing herself down to the floor. She felt along the rail until she hit the wall and walked along it, using a hand to guide herself until she found a handle and opened the door.

Light flooded in and she groaned, turning away from how bright it was.

She looked around her. Where the hell was she?

“Hello? Anyone here?”

An unsettling thought came to her that she was lost somehow in her mind or JD's, which was impossible and yet not given the kinds of crazy things they could do and had done.

“Hello? JD? Heather? Martha? Taylor? Anyone?”

“Veronica,” a voice said from behind her, making her jump, and she turned to see Martha there. “Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. We weren't sure how long it would take either of you to wake up, and everyone was pretty tired, especially Taylor and Saige, so... we all kind of ended up in our rooms, sleeping if we could.”

“Where are we?”

“A hotel. Bed and breakfast, actually. Taylor said we should probably wait to go back until the two of you were... well, conscious, and everyone sort of grudgingly agreed and so we found this place up ahead on the road, took all the rooms they had, and everyone's been showering and napping ever since.”

“Oh.”

“JD is in the room across from yours,” Martha said, opening the door for her. “Chandler took her own room, the other Heathers are sharing, Tanner has his downstairs, and technically I'm with you, but I didn't really figure you'd want to share with me when you could be in with him.”

Veronica flushed. “It's not like... we haven't actually...”

“You're worried about him, though, right?” Martha asked. She flipped on the switch. JD didn't stir. “Taylor said what you did was risky. No one does that, turns their own abilities on themselves, but JD did and it apparently took a lot out of both of you. You were out for hours. He's still like that, has been since we went back for you.”

Veronica winced. “He shut them all off?”

“Taylor said it was just the one that had everyone scared,” Martha told her. “I think they're a bit glad because they like calling him Dead Zone, but I also think if he had done that, with the way his abilities other than the reality warping kind of tie together, he could have really hurt someone. You. Him. I'd think... brain damage.”

Veronica flinched. “But he didn't... he's okay?”

“As far as we know.”

Veronica nodded, crossing over to JD's side. He was so still he scared her, but when she was closer, she could see his chest moving up and down. She climbed onto the bed with him, curling up against him and holding on tight.

“You scared me, you idiot. Don't ever do that again.”

He didn't respond, and she shivered, closing her eyes and trying to believe that they'd both be okay in the morning.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning brings some traveling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was midway through the chapter for Chaos and got stalled out by trying to solve a balance problem and my head hurt too much to make decisions, and I thought... "Oh, I've got like one chapter left of Trauma, so I'll get that done as I had that dialogue in my head and it was good."
> 
> Well... it got complicated because I think they need more time with JD's extended family than the one scene and the dialogue I didn't even get to, so there's another chapter and I think that'll wrap up this part.

* * *

“Where is she?” Heather demanded, standing over Dumptruck's bed. The one next to her was empty, and that was where they'd put Veronica when they got here. She knew that. She'd even dosed Veronica with a bit of something that was supposed to help. This whole Poison Ivy thing was getting out of hand. She saw things she could turn into remedies everywhere, and it was really starting to frustrate her.

She was not just a walking pharmacopeia. 

“Where do you think?” Martha asked, and Heather frowned. “Yes, she woke up, and yes, she went in to JD's room. He was still out cold, so I don't think anything happened, not that sense, but I doubt you're that worried about Veronica's virtue.”

Heather could give a rat's ass about Veronica's virtue. She figured Veronica was stupid enough to sleep with Dead Zone, if she hadn't already. That wasn't something she needed to know. “I just want to get out of here. I haven't changed clothes in three days, and washing this in the shower is unacceptable. My parents usually don't care what I do, but I haven't been home in days and even they'll notice that. Plus McNamara's head cleared, she's freaking out about Dean killing her mom again, and they barged into my room and woke me. I sent them after the happy soulmates instead, but I already know what they'll say—they're not going anywhere until Dead Zone is awake and they've got the only car.”

“She's across the hall, though why you didn't just barge in on them, I don't know,” Martha said. “Not that you should—JD probably still needs rest given what he did yesterday and that he was in a car crash, so I wouldn't recommend waking him, but you do what you're going to do.”

“Don't get too bold, Dumptruck. I still rule the school.”

Martha shook her head. “You had us all afraid, but I know what you can do. If you do something, we'll all know. And I may be fat, but I have strength, too, and I ignored it before, but I won't now. I didn't know what I had, but I do now.”

“I'm not scared of you.”

“Then we're even,” Martha said with a smile.

Heather grimaced and went across the hall, not sure what to think of this. She didn't like it. She was still going to be in charge of the school when this was over.

She opened the door, flipping on the light.

“Seriously? You're still asleep?” Heather asked, folding her arms over her chest. “How long are you going to stay in bed?”

“Go away, Heather,” Veronica muttered, not lifting her head. “He still needs rest. You have no idea what it was like for us out there.”

“Yeah, well, we're going home. Now. I need new clothes, and your boyfriend has ruined enough of our lives already. We're going. If I have to drag him out of that bed myself, we're going.”

“You'd have to fight a lot of people for that, and I don't think you can,” Veronica said. “Look, when we're ready, we'll go.”

“I am not waiting around here one minute longer.”

“Call a cab then,” Veronica said. “Just... leave him alone. It's not every day you fight off an abusive asshole that screws with your head and uses an ability against you, get in a car wreck, and then almost starts an apocalypse. He shut his ability off, but it hurt, okay? I felt it, too. I got knocked unconscious. And if it was that bad for me, it was ten times worse for him. Just leave us alone.”

Heather started to object, but someone pushed past her into the room, and she turned to glare at the newcomer to discover it was, of all things, that dick again.

“You.”

“Not here for you. Go away,” Taylor said. He looked straight at Veronica. “How would you feel about a bit of a road trip?”

“What?”

“It's been seventeen years, and he's never met his real family,” Taylor said. “We want to take him home with us.”

Veronica blinked. “Um... yeah, I guess... I wouldn't mind, but what about the others?”

“We can drop them off before we leave for good, if that's what they want, though I think a few of them will want to come along,” Taylor glanced at Heather. “Others might not be so welcome. However... there are others your age around the place, so it won't be a complete loss. Maybe there are even soulmates there.”

“I think you'd get Betty to go for that.”

“Betty?”

“Another friend. Former friend. It's not important,” Veronica said. “I think seeing your family would be great, but I don't know about anyone else and we will have to go explain a few things to our parents.”

Taylor grimaced. “You can leave me out of that, right? I'm not really interested in kidnapping charges, even if that's so not what I did.”

Veronica laughed. “I think we can say we were at a party and my parents won't care because they don't pay much attention to what I do if it's with the Heathers.”

“Good. Let's go, then.” He looked at Heather. “Happy now?”

She gave him the finger, and he grinned as he walked away.

* * *

“You're sure your parents are okay with this?”

Martha nodded. Her parents had been so happy to hear she was “friends” with Heather Duke again, even if that was such a loose definition of it, they'd been willing to overlook her going missing and wanting to leave right away again. She was looking forward to this. She wanted to meet all of Taylor's family, including his daughter whose first word was sarcastic, and others that were supposed to be there, though he'd threatened to disown all of them if any of them befriended Meryl.

“You?”

Veronica shrugged. “They weren't thrilled, but I would have come anyway.”

Martha didn't doubt that. JD hadn't woken up yet, and Veronica would want to be near him until she was sure he was going to be all right. Taylor and Saige were fussing over him, too, but it wasn't the same, though they were so cute when they bickered over how to take care of him, and Martha found herself wishing that Taylor could have gotten him away from Bud years ago and raised him with a real family.

“My mom woke up long enough to say hello and goodbye, so I guess we're okay,” McNamara said, biting her lip. “So... um... yeah. I'm going.”

Martha winced. That had to be hard, not that McNamara seemed able to acknowledge what her mother was really like.

“I want to meet them,” Duke said. “For purely intellectual reasons. I want to know more about abilities and soulmates.”

“And you had a brain tumor for breakfast,” Chandler said from the back seat. “I can't believe any of you think this is a good idea.”

“Exactly why are you in the car, then?”

“So that nothing happens to any of you idiots while you're there.”

Veronica snorted. “Sure. That's the only reason.”

Martha doubted that it was, but she didn't want to fight with Heather Chandler again. She didn't like the other girl much, but she wasn't here argue. She wanted to enjoy this trip. She knew they had a lot still to learn, and Taylor's family being willing to teach them was a rare opportunity, the kind they weren't likely to get again.

This was worth putting up with the Heathers for, not that she minded some of them, but Chandler was even worse now, it seemed, that everyone had powers and was challenging her authority.

“Why aren't we on the road yet?”

“Tanner's getting everyone slushies for the road. Such a man child,” Saige said, rolling her eyes. “And Heather—Duke, I mean—I'm very interested in this ability of yours. I don't suppose you'd be willing to use it for this drive? I love my husband, but he can't sing.”

“Excuse me, I sing just fine. She's tone deaf and trying to use an insult to me to cover the fact that we all want you to make Chandler shut up for the duration of the trip,” Taylor said, flashing Chandler a smug grin.

“You are such a d—” 

Chandler's words cut off abruptly, making Taylor practically bounce with excitement. 

“Thank you, Heather. Very nicely done. This will make for a very good trip, just as soon as my brother gets here with those slushies.”

* * *

Veronica stirred when the van came to a stop. She lifted her head from JD's chest, giving him another worried look. He hadn't woken, not in all the time they were driving, and even the stop hadn't made a difference. If he didn't come around soon, would it ever happen?

Was Martha right? Could JD have given himself... brain damage? Would he never wake up again? His mind was gone and he was just a shell?

She didn't want to believe that.

“This is your house?” McNamara asked, leaning forward to take it in. “This is... huge.”

“Well, we're a big clan, seeing as Tanner's not the only one who had a busload full of kids,” Taylor said. “And no, that's not our house. That's Grandfather's. He and his caretakers still live there, and you will be guests there, most likely. Now next to it, that blue house, that's our parents' house. That's where we grew up.”

“And on the other side is where Tricia's parents lived. They're gone now, and Tricia's sister took it over when they died. She's not nice. You don't want to meet her, even if she is your aunt, kid,” Taylor told JD, but he still didn't wake up. “Meryl fortunately lives in town, at his 'lab,' so you should miss him as no one would tell him we were coming. He'd love to document all of you, but I'm not about to give him what he wants. We are not guinea pigs, and understanding our abilities does not need a nosy clinical approach from a pompous jerk like my cousin.”

“Are all these houses... your family?”

“Most of them. There's a lot of us, and we do actually find it useful to live a bit apart from the rest of the world. Actually, a lot of this grew up around us. That subdivision back there wasn't here when I was a kid,” Tanner said. “City came and claimed us, but Grandfather's too set in his ways to move, and he's getting pretty up there, so I don't see him going any time soon.”

“I do,” Taylor said, giving JD a glance. “We should go in and say hello. He'll really want to meet you, Veronica. You're the answer to a lot of questions we've had over the years.”

She frowned. “Don't you mean JD is?”

“Oh, no,” Taylor said. “You. You see, you crossing paths before, in Sherwood, that explains a lot, and the things you've seen... Grandfather will want to meet you.”

“Why not your grandmother?” Martha asked. “You never talk about her. Did she die?”

“I think that might have been kinder,” Saige said, and Taylor reached for her hand. “She has Alzheimer's. And there's not enough healing in me or anyone else in the family that can reverse it, at least not permanently. We can give her some good days, nothing more.”

“She might even have one today, but we'll see. We need to get JD inside,” Tanner said. He got out from behind the wheel and crossed around to the side door, opening it up. Veronica helped push JD up out of his chair and he fell into Tanner's arms.

Taylor walked in front of them, opening the big doors for his brother. Veronica scrambled out of the van and ran up after them, not wanting to be separated for long. She knew JD needed her, one way or another.

She heard a man's voice call out. “Bring him in here.”

Tanner turned, carrying JD into a room to the side of the foyer. Taylor waved her in.

“Go on. Grandfather won't bite,” Taylor said. “As much as I'd like to be a fly on the wall for this, someone has to tour guide the others, and I need to at least get them started.”

Veronica nodded, going inside the room. Tanner had set JD down on a long couch, not far from an elderly man sitting in a recliner. He looked at her with keen eyes and a smile that she'd seen from Tanner and Taylor.

“You needn't be afraid.”

“No? Taylor seems to be.”

He nodded. “My grandson thinks that I've only held on this long to see the prodigal returned to us, that between my wife's illness and my own poor health, I have lost the last reason I had to be stubborn and stick around.”

Veronica walked over to the other chair, taking it, not sure where Tanner had gone, though the outer door was open. Maybe he left through there?

“Were you only holding out to see JD?”

The old man laughed. “I've seen that boy many times over the years. In many futures, many paths. I've seen what he could be. I would like to know he's not some of what I've seen, and I think that may be true.”

“You mean because he stopped his ability without hurting anyone?”

“I think he has more balance this time than in many other paths,” his great-grandfather answered. “That owes much to you, but it is not yours alone to bear. He made other choices.”

“Ones his mother didn't?”

“You could say that.”

Veronica met his eyes. “I've seen it, you know. What he can do. What you do.”

“Then I pity you as much as I do him. It is no easy burden to bear.”

Veronica nodded. “I'm surprised he didn't take that one away when he got rid of his reality warping ability.”

“We don't pick and choose what we are.”

“JD can,” Veronica reminded him. “Or at least... he can start other people and was able to undo the activation of that power.”

“He is an exception.”

“A dangerous one?”

“We're all potentially dangerous. Some are just more so than others, but at the same time... he has balance to him. He can see what a person might become, in more ways than one, and he knows the possible consequences of any activation.”

“Now. Not when he started Bud.”

“An unfortunate outcome of Tricia's choices. She could have stayed here, where we would have helped her and the baby, but she twisted our concerns over Micheal's abilities into a much greater fear and ran from us.”

“She thought you'd make her abort JD in case he had the same thing his father did.”

“Yes, she believed that, and no, it was not true. We were worried, but there is always worry with any new ability, particularly ones that have never shown before. You should have seen the fuss over Taylor. He is also very unique... and it has been a heavy burden for him. Yet we never abandoned him to it, even when it seemed like it would take his mind. Now look at him. He's a very powerful, very stable man. A good husband and father who brings closure to many.”

“You're very proud of him.”

“I have no reason not to be.”

“And JD?”

“I can admire that he found a non-lethal solution to the problem he was facing, but I do not know my great-grandson. Not yet, anyway.” He chuckled, looking over at the couch. “You can stop pretending to be asleep now, you know. Even if we are talking about you and being rather rude, so is eavesdropping.”

“Wasn't,” JD muttered as he sat up, groaning and putting a hand to his head. “Needed minute... figure out... where I was.”

Veronica rose, running over to him. She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. “You scared me. I was afraid you'd never wake up.”

He leaned his head against her chest. “I really wasn't sure I wanted to.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica and JD talk with his great-grandfather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to be done with this with JD's conversation with his grandfather, but it wasn't quite enough, and I'm still not sure what I did was enough.
> 
> Endings are not easy. I like leaving things open for more later, and I think I covered most stuff, but it's hard to know if I did it right.

* * *

Veronica didn't want to ask about that, not really. She'd already fought hard not to lose JD, since he would have killed himself back there on the road if she hadn't stopped him. She didn't know how to accept losing him, even if they were still mostly strangers. She wanted to know more about him, and she did feel... something. Maybe it wasn't love, maybe wasn't an actual soul bond, but it was definitely something.

She refused to let him die, now or later. She curled her fingers through his hair, holding onto him.

He was hers, and she wanted him with her, so she would help him past this, too. 

“You don't have to be afraid of destroying the world,” she reminded him, “and your ability to activate people... that's separate. That's a choice, right? So you don't have to fear it. And while the other one is... unpleasant, it's not impossible to live with. He has for a long time.”

She looked over at his great-grandfather. JD saw him and frowned. She supposed they were being a bit rude, but then JD needed a bit to recover. He did know his great-grandfather was there, since he'd answered him, but he might have forgotten already.

“You really want to?” JD asked, lifting his head and addressing his great-grandfather. “Why?”

His great-grandfather laughed. “Oh, you see only the worst of it. I know you've known little else, but life is so much more than our abilities. I've had a good, long life, with a woman I have loved for all of it, even if she can't remember me now. What you see, what I've seen, as horrible as it can be, is only one piece of any part of my life. I have lived to see such great things as well as the terrible ones. And I have a family most people would envy. Not because of our abilities. Because we are still close and stronger and happier because of our ties. We have had good lives, all of us. With the unfortunate exception of your mother.”

JD tensed. “I don't want to talk about her.”

“Tricia did you few favors. It would be understandable if you resented her.”

“I said I'm not talking about her.” JD rose. “I've got nothing to say about her. And where the fuck are we? This isn't—no. No one asked me if I wanted to come here. I don't. I don't want anything from any of you.”

“No one will force you to take it,” his great-grandfather said. “However, as I understand it, you allowed Bud Dean to live, and on record, he is your father. That means as long as you are under eighteen, the law would return you to his care. He is hospitalized at the moment, of course, but that will not last forever. While he cannot order people to give you back to him, the law would still favor him right now.”

Veronica frowned. “What are you saying?”

“That our homes are open to JD for as long as he would like to stay and that it may prove better for him. Bud Dean has no hold here, nor can he get one. It may be wiser to remain here until you are eighteen.”

JD folded his arms over his chest. “Yeah, right. I don't know you people, and I'm no bright shiny happy person to take in the middle of your happy home and sing campfire songs with. You talk about bright sides? There aren't any. That's what I've learned in seventeen years. There hasn't been any good in my life before... well, there's Veronica, but that's different.”

“You blame me.”

“Shouldn't I? You knew what she was going to do. You didn't stop her.”

His great-grandfather shook his head. “I learned a long time ago that the outcomes I wished to prevent could be created by my intervention. Only certain possibilities come close to inevitabilities, and even then... they can surprise you, as you yourself should know by now.”

“You mean Heather dying. And the darkness we kept seeing.”

“Yes. Those things were close to set, but in the end, choices made still prevented them and altered those futures. Would you have chosen differently if you'd know what the darkness meant? I fear it all too likely we would not even be having this conversation.”

Veronica had to agree with that. She knew how close JD had come to ending himself the way his father had, and she was sure that wasn't the first time killing himself had crossed his mind. If Bud hadn't put him under orders, he probably would be dead, seeing as he'd almost given himself over to Bud again. That kind of choice... JD was still on a dangerous edge, even if he was free and had stopped the damage to this reality.

“So, what, now I thank you, cry over being a real boy, and we have a Disney moment?”

“Ah, and now I can see why Taylor likes you so much. You sound rather like Saige.”

“Gross. Thanks for twisting that for me.”

“You are the one distorting what I said. Taylor finds your kind of humor the height of comedy. Others less so. Mind your Aunt Carol. She's... never had much tolerance for flippant remarks. She married in, you know. That's not my daughter.”

“I see,” Veronica said. “You and your wife were a lot like Taylor and Saige, huh?”

He smiled. “I fear I've played the role of responsible patriarch for so long that people forget I had any other personality before I got all these children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. That and my ability makes everyone assume doom and gloom.”

Veronica thought she liked him. “I think that's JD right now.”

“Screw you,” JD said, and she gave him a look that had his glare faltering. He looked a bit flustered, and she wanted to keep on teasing, maybe even kiss him, except it was too damned weird in front of his great-grandfather.

“I wonder if perhaps you'd continue that conversation later,” JD's great-grandfather said, and they both looked at him. “I'm sure none of us are under any illusions about what the two of you will eventually do together, but I'd rather not be a witness to it. I'd also like to have a chance to speak to my great-grandson in private as well as for you to see more of what we're like here, Veronica. You are... very protective of JD, and I admire that, so I think your mind will be set at ease about him staying here if he chooses to do so.”

Veronica bit her lip. Admittedly, she wanted to see more of the place, but she wasn't so sure about leaving JD alone.

“I think the only one who would be in physical harm here would be me,” he reminded her. “And while I know that not all of our conversation will be... pleasant, I think it will be more or less civil. Assuming JD agrees to speak to me, of course.”

JD shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I'll go find Taylor,” Veronica said. She stopped, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I'll be back soon. I promise.”

He nodded. “I'll be fine.”

* * *

“Hey, Veronica,” Martha called, waving her over to where she stood with Taylor. She hoped this was a good sign. It almost had to be, since there was no way she would have left JD alone if he was still unconscious. “How is he?”

“Okay, I think. Still... unsettled, but he was talking to his great-grandfather when I left. They... have a lot to work out,” Veronica said. She forced a smile, looking back at the house again.

“If there's anyone who can win our boy over, it's Grandfather,” Taylor said, and Martha saw Veronica frown at him. “No one said it was going to be easy for JD even after he was free of Bud, and technically, he's not completely free. He's still a minor in the eyes of the law, Bud has no record thanks to his ability and his money, and they would return JD to him as soon as he's out of the hospital.”

Martha grimaced. “Really? They'd just... give him back?”

“They did before,” Taylor said. “That time when he had to be hospitalized... they still gave him back despite everything we said. They told us our claim was not as strong as his father's, even though we insisted Bud wasn't JD's biological father. Of course, it didn't help that Bud ordered JD to say he wanted to go with him.”

“His great-grandfather did say that he thought JD could stay here in safety until he was eighteen.”

Martha frowned. “How does that work?”

“Officially, he'd still be considered a runaway if Bud reported him, but as Bud has never found us or been able to harm us, this is... a sanctuary of sorts. I think your friends feel the same,” Taylor said. “Even you might, unless I'm mistaken.”

Martha flushed. She did like it here. Most of Taylor's family was warm and inviting, and they did seem to come and go out of each other's houses like they were all connected and yet not at the same time. They even had a sort of rec center that Taylor said doubled as a training facility for some abilities.

“It is nice here,” Martha admitted. “I just... have a hard time seeing JD here.”

Veronica looked around. “It's... suburban. And happy. And... JD is still kind of...”

“Thinking he should have died back there?” Taylor prompted. Veronica winced, and Martha felt sick. “I can still sense it. The guilt. He knows he activated Bud, and even though he was too young to know what he did, he feels as though everyone Bud hurt with that ability is his fault because he started it. It's going to take a lot to overcome that, but Grandfather can help. He... knows a thing or two about guilt.”

“With all the stuff he's seen that he couldn't stop, I bet he does,” Veronica said. She shivered. “Where is everyone else? Hard to believe the Heathers are being quiet, even with what Duke can do.”

“Oh, well, we may or may not have ambushed Duke with some food, and while it doesn't really count as a superpower, my mother's cooking is the best on the planet, and I am not just saying that because she's my mother,” Taylor said with a grin. “Poison Ivy may or may not have been waylaid by our own floral expert.”

Veronica laughed. “You set them all up?”

Taylor shrugged. “I said I was a tour guide, right? I simply pointed them to their interests. Or things that would be very good for them, like real food.”

“And McNamara?”

“That I had nothing to do with. I blame Saige. She says she has a sense for these things. She's wrong, because if anyone did, it would be me, with what I can do, but I can't, so I know she can't and so she's making it all up and—”

“What are you saying, Taylor?”

“Oh, there may be a light show later after all,” Martha said. “Some sparks flew earlier when Saige introduced her to another one of Taylor's cousins.”

Veronica looked at her and then Taylor. “Really?”

Martha smiled. “It was almost like watching you and JD. Hard to believe she was a cheerleader. She was so uncoordinated back there. She tripped over some kid's toy and almost broke something.”

Veronica smiled. “I'm sorry I missed it.”

“It's not a soulmate thing.”

Martha laughed. “They have a bet, him and Saige, and I think he's going to lose.”

“Oh, sure, laugh it up,” Taylor said. “Just be glad I came out in time to keep my daughter from convincing you to lift a car. That is such a bad idea.”

“How would she even know to ask Martha about that?”

Martha frowned. “You know, that is a good question. If you rescued me from that does that mean I was about to be ambushed, too?”

“Um, no, if you were strength training, you'd be in the gym and not anywhere near my daughter,” Taylor said, and that had Veronica laughing.

“Oh, Taylor. Did your daughter inherit your ability?”

“No,” he said stiffly. “She's too damned young for that, and that kid is not her soulmate. It's not happening. Not, not, not. She's just... she must have been eavesdropping. She has all of our bad habits, after all. With me and Saige as her parents... well, she was even more doomed than JD ever was.”

Martha shared a look with Veronica. She didn't know about the others, but she had a feeling she was going to consider moving here after high school, or somewhere nearby, depending on college. This place was the first in a long time that she'd felt genuinely welcomed and none of them treated her different because of her weight. Maybe it was because they were all freaks here, in a sense, but they were nice people.

Well, other than that aunt that Taylor mentioned. She was super cranky and needed a few of the drugs McNamara's mom was on.

“You want to look around some more, Veronica?”

“Yeah.”

* * *

“You have some amazing inspiring message for me?” JD asked, sitting back down and facing the old man. “Or an apology? Or, what, a fucking lecture? What do you even want?”

“To know my oldest great-grandchild,” the man answered, and JD frowned. He laughed. “It's not such a hard thing to believe, is it? Your mother did have you quite young, and while Tanner was older and married by then, he hadn't quite started his dozen yet.”

“Tanner has twelve kids?”

“Eight so far.”

“But you've seen a lot more in the future,” JD said, and the old man shrugged. He glared at him. “What, you can't even admit that? You know if I wanted to, I could probably look for myself. It is possible to do that, isn't it? Look for specific futures?”

“Down that path lies a lot of pain and anxiety over things that may not come to pass or cannot be changed,” his great-grandfather warned. “Though you're not wrong. You can seek out specific ones. It's never been anything worth knowing in my experience, but you will do what you want.”

“And if what I want is to tell all of you to fuck off and leave?”

“Also your decision. No one is going to force you to stay. That's not what this is.” The old man shifted in his chair. “This is your heritage, and it's a part of you whether you acknowledge it or not, but as to making you do that... Only Bud Dean could, and even then, what he ordered was never true when it came to your feelings, just a temporary response that leaves you even more damaged than the order itself.”

JD swallowed. “Have you ever... seen anything from the past? From other possibilities? Can you seek that out, too?”

“You mean your missing time, the things Bud ordered you to forget.”

JD didn't want to agree to that, but it was why he wanted to know. “Yeah. Can I get that back besides the stuff I apparently used loopholes to keep?”

“Are you certain you want to?”

His stomach twisted up at the question, thinking of Bud's taunt. Did he really want to know if the man had done that to him? No. And yet... how did he live with that question endlessly hanging over his head?

“Is it possible?”

“Not with what I can do, but you're different, which you already know. Your abilities surpass everyone else here. You can do things no one believed possible, and your counterpart is almost as strong as you are without generations of abilities flowing through her. When you two work together, almost nothing is impossible, and you know you did not rid yourself completely of your father's ability. You shut it off, but you could turn it back on.”

“Why the fuck would I do that?”

“Please. Like you don't think this world is flawed and perhaps, to use your terminology, fucked up beyond all reason. You could decide to fix that.”

JD tried not to tense up. He wanted to say he'd never do that, but he didn't have to look into future possibilities to know he was more than a little capable of doing just that. He had seen his ideas on fixing problems like Ram Sweeney and Kurt Kelly, even Heather Chandler.

“It doesn't work out for me and Veronica in most possibilities, does it?”

“Everyone makes different choices. What happens is not set.”

“It was for my parents, wasn't it? Or was there actually one where it ended happily for them?”

“There's always a chance of happily ever after, just not as high of one as the entertainment world leads you to believe. Tricia could have made other choices. So could Micheal. I happen to believe if they'd been older when they met, more mature, a lot of this pain could have been avoided, not that we didn't have our own parts in it. What Micheal could do genuinely scared all of us. No one should have that kind of power, but he did. And you do. You've already proved more capable of handling it than your father was.”

“If you call activating Bud to stop me from using it, sure.”

“Again, that was part to do with someone else. Tricia's fears were overwhelming you. You may have noticed that your abilities have some strong emotional ties. You were too young to handle that properly, and if she'd been with us, we could have helped even when you did activate as young as you did. You were born active, you know. That's also very rare.”

JD shrugged. “So I'm a super freak. Great. That's fucking fantastic.”

“You are not alone in being... a freak, if you want to call us that. We are all blessed or cursed as the case may be, and we have all had our struggles with what we can do. There is more understanding here than you think. Taylor, Saige, and Tanner are only the start of that. And do not overlook Veronica. Your connection to her is twice as strong as your parents was to each other already. It's balanced in ways other couples who've been together years don't have. You are not just soulmates. You're counterbalances.”

JD shook his head. “I saw hundreds of those possibilities where we didn't end up together. In more than one of them, we tried or succeeded in killing each other.”

“Those were other choices. You were damaged in other ways, made other poor decisions, though almost all of them involve Bud Dean to some degree. In some worlds, he is your actual biological father.”

“Great.”

“That doesn't mean you're doomed to death. You have a future of your own to make. You have a life to live. The thing that you have to remember is that you still have a choice. Don't forget that no matter how dark the visions get. You have a choice. It may not be the one you want to make, but you found one earlier that didn't involve anyone dying. Remember that. Hold to it. Hold to what you feel for Veronica. Let it grow and mature.”

JD snorted. “You know that I don't have a future. Veornica's college bound. So are the Heathers and Martha. My school records are completely fucked up from moving around all the time, and even if I could get into college, what would I do?”

“'To live is to suffer, to survive is—'”

“'To find meaning in the suffering,'” JD finished. “Yeah, but not only was Nietzche full of shit, quoting him doesn't mean anything.”

“Perhaps not, but it shows you are more well-informed than you pretend. And the future, despite what high school tells you, is not just about college and careers. You have a lot more to live than that, and what you do may matter more than anyone with any fancy degree. I consider my life's success to be what I have here around me. This is a fine enough legacy for me, but then I'm a simple, stupid man myself. My only real regret is that nothing I could do or see could change the disease that stole my wife from me while she's still alive.”

JD snorted. “So you don't feel sorry at all for not doing more to stop my mom from being an idiot? Or for... I don't know, not stopping me?”

“I don't think you're a lost cause. As for your mother... I think had I actively tried to prevent her from meeting your father, I'd have only made it worse. She'd have run off with him sooner and that apocalypse could have happened. I saw instances where they met younger than Taylor and Saige, and they were actually the youngest set there ever was before you came along. Do I think maybe I could have done more when she had met Micheal? Yes. I should have sent Taylor after them the first day. I should have told her more of what could happen if he didn't get his ability under control. And yet I remember your mother and how stubborn she was, how desperate she was to be with him, and I'm not sure we could have made it any better. I did see a world where they lived and raised you. Once. That one, as I said, came when they met much later in life. I saw their meeting, the one in the market that actually happened, in one of the possibilities, but it was only one of many then and not a guarantee that I could have stopped. By the time it was, it was too late.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?”

His great-grandfather sighed. “We live with our choices. I made mine. I can accept what I've done or I can wallow in the past. I've never been one for wallowing. Your great-grandmother would never have let me, for one. She'd have kicked my ass and told me what an idiot I was. Did I do wrong? Most likely. I made the choice to go on living despite that. As you will have to decide for yourself as well. Do you really believe you deserve to die for what Bud has done?”

JD couldn't look at the old man. “He killed people. He killed my mom. I mean, he ordered her to take her own life, and she did. She stood there and waved at me before the building exploded. She knew. She knew, but she was under orders and she died and I made that possible. I made a lot of deaths possible.”

“So have the manufacturers of a great many things, and I don't even mean weapons or cars. You weren't making a weapon.”

“And the road to hell and good intentions and all that bullshit.”

“If you're determined to take the blame for everything and punish yourself for it, we can't stop you. That's your choice. Again.”

“Ooh,” JD muttered. “It's all up to me. Where have I heard that before?”

“In a lot of false promises and political campaigns, I suppose, but you are still making the decision over what you choose to do to yourself because of Bud. I think others would argue Bud made you suffer plenty for that choice, right up to the point of death, so is it really right to punish yourself further?”

“He didn't kill me. He wanted more power.”

“And you never gave it to him, though you could have, in theory.”

“You said my mom couldn't be stopped. Doesn't that mean some people can't be saved?”

“Maybe, but it doesn't mean you're one of them.”

* * *

“Taylor suggested I find you,” Veronica said as she walked up to JD. “He also told me where to find you, so... I figured you might need me. Did... was it bad? I wouldn't have left if I thought that he was going to—”

“He tried to convince me I wasn't to blame for what Bud did.”

She winced, going over and wrapping her arms around him. “JD, you couldn't have known. I mean now, yes, you can, because you have the other abilities that show you what people are, what they can be, what they might do, but back then? You were a baby. And you didn't choose to hurt those people. He did. And with what he did to you... Don't you think you've more than paid for that mistake?”

“I don't know.”

She leaned her head against his chest. “I think you have. I don't think you have to punish yourself more. I don't want you to.”

“Why do you see anything good in me?”

“Oh, bias, probably, seeing as I'm your soulmate, but I've also seen parts of you that you don't realize are there, and when you think about what you could have done to Bud or when you were changing reality... it could have been so much worse and it wasn't. You were willing to give yourself up to protect us. There's good in you. I've felt it.”

“Quoting _Return of the Jedi,_ are you?”

“I could have called you a scruffy looking nerf-herder.”

“I'd claim I wasn't scruffy looking, but I've been in these clothes for days and slept in them, too, so... yeah, not that great right now. It's a wonder the smell hasn't driven you off,” JD said, and she laughed, reaching up to touch his cheek. “Ah, see, I knew you didn't like nice men.”

She rolled her eyes. “I like you just fine, and there are nice parts of you. Not many, but enough. And I can forgive the rest of it because you almost died and I was scared I'd lost you even after you did that to stop your ability and save the world.”

“I did not save the world.”

“Oh? So, what, you did it to save yourself? Hard to believe because you were talking about dying a bit before that.”

“For you.”

Her stomach flopped. “That's... that's crazy, JD. You can't do that for me. I don't want to... I wouldn't want to be the reason you died, even if you were saving me.”

“They seem to think we're counterbalances. That if one of us goes... boom, there goes the other.”

She considered that, having the sinking feeling that it wasn't as true as they claimed. She could probably function without JD. She wasn't so sure about him doing this without her. She didn't _want_ to do this without him, but that was different.

“Maybe. I did say with you to the end, so... yeah.”

“They want me to stay here.”

“It's kind of a nice place. They've got a whole mini-community here, practically their own town. Chandler's learning from an herbalist, Duke is eating, and McNamara may have found her soulmate, though Taylor tried to bet against Saige on that score.”

He snorted. “Sounds a bit like paradise, which makes it too good to be true.”

“Maybe. Martha says she likes it here. No one's judging her for her weight.”

“So your friends like it here. What's your point?”

Veronica reached up to touch his face. “I think you could, too, if you weren't trying to distance yourself from your family and hold onto grudges and the pain of what happened before. They're not all that bad, even if they should have handled a few things differently. They're human. So are you.”

“I saw a future where Taylor talked me into that crazy idea of his of me stopping people like us that abuse what we can do,” JD said. “The others were with us. We were some kind of crazy team.”

“Doesn't sound so bad.”

“And I see futures where we kill each other.”

She winced. “Not allowed to happen, but if you cheat on me, I think I'll cut your balls off.”

“Violent. And kinky.”

“Don't laugh. I don't think you would, but if you ever did, it would be the end of us.”

He snorted. “Like I could. I need you too damned much. I can't do this on my own, and you know it. You do. I'm a mess, and even with you... I may be well past saving, and you deserve better.”

She shook her head. “Don't put me on pedestals, JD. I'm no saint. I'm not even that good. Remember what I did to Martha not long before we met? That note? Yeah... I'm not pure of soul, either.”

“And that makes us right for each other?”

“I think it makes us capable of understanding each other,” she corrected, “and if we both want to be good for the other... well, that's a good place to start, right?”

He shrugged. “It's probably not enough.”

“Other people have less. We have already kind of gone through fire together. I think we have a chance, and we're not your parents.”

“Bud might hunt me for the rest of my life, trying to get me to undo what we did. And he'll threaten you and—”

“And I will kick his ass if he tries it,” Veronica said, smiling. “Stop giving me reasons not to do this. I made my choice. You can't unmake it for me, not unless you run from me, and if you do, I'll get your cousin to track you down, so... it won't work.”

“Hmm. You or death, then, since that's the only escape.”

“Yep.”

“I think I can live with that,” he said, and she grinned just before he kissed her.


End file.
